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Schoolgirl novice Rachel Lee may barely consider it after snatching the joint Australian Open lead with a scorching begin at The Lakes.
Australian Open
Ladies’s spherical one
Rachel Lee (Am, AUS) — 6-underJenny Shin (USA) — 6-underJiyai Shin (KOR) — 5-underStephanie Kyriacou (AUS) — 4-underAshleigh Buhai (SAF) — 4-underMinjee Lee (AUS) — 3-underElla Scaysbrook (Am, AUS) — 3-under
Am – Novice participant
Lee helped herself to eight birdies, together with a pleasant tap-in two on the final in driving rain, to upstage the heavyweights throughout Thursday’s opening spherical in Sydney.
The 16-year-old solely certified on Monday but after a 6-under 67 she now sits on the high of the leaderboard together with American participant Jenny Shin, who had one of many uncommon low rounds later within the day.
The pair get pleasure from a one-stroke lead over former world primary and two-time main champion Jiyai Shin, with fellow PGA Tour star Steph Kyriacou one shot additional again in solo third at 4-under.
“Am I main the Australian Open? Oh, actually I by no means thought that (was attainable),” Lee mentioned.
“Hopefully I can do this for the following three days.”
Much more remarkably, the 12 months 10 Endeavour Sports activities Excessive Faculty scholar virtually missed her morning tee time.
Lacking morning tea in school is one factor, however not tee time in your Australian Open debut.
“I assumed I used to be at 8.38am and never 8.28am and I’ve realized my lesson. I will not do this once more,” she mentioned.
“I used to be placing and my coach says, ‘Rachel, you are on the tee’. So I simply ran on the market.”
Open favorite and unrelated namesake Minjee Lee earlier mounted a spirited back-nine fightback to card a 3-under 70 and preserve the dream alive of her and brother Min Woo finishing an historic sibling double on the $3.4 million dual-gender occasion.
After beginning on the tenth and transferring to 2-under by 5 holes, Lee appeared unsettled by a three-putt bogey on the fifteenth.
That preceded one other dropped shot on the seventeenth earlier than a dreaded double-bogey on 18 dropped Lee again to 2-over heading to the flip. However the world quantity 5 and twin main championship winner common six birdies coming dwelling, together with one on the final to ice her spherical.
Taking part in alongside Minjee, Kyriacou used her intimate course information to publish a 69 to path teenager Lee by two strokes.
Japan’s Ayaka Sugihara landed the primary ace of the event, holing out from 144 metres with a seven iron on the par-3 eleventh at The Australian. However she may nonetheless solely handle a 2-over 74 to be seven pictures adrift of the chief.
The spotlight of Kyriacou’s regular spherical was an eagle three on the par-3 third gap to go together with three birdies and her solely bogey on quantity 18.
Within the males’s occasion, former champion Cam Davis lit up The Lakes to seize the clubhouse lead with a storming first-round 9-under 63.
Australian Open
Males’s spherical one
Cameron Davis (AUS) — 9-underPatrick Rodgers (USA) — 8-underHayden Hopewell (AUS) — 7-underGrant Forrest (SCO) — 6-underAlexander Levy (FRA) — 6-underNico Galletti (USA) — 6-underSean Crocker (USA) — 6-under
Taking full benefit of the proper morning scoring circumstances, Davis ominously ripped by his opening 9 holes in 6-under and picked up three extra birdies coming dwelling in a blazing begin.
The magical spherical would have equalled John Senden’s course document however wasn’t recognised after officers opted for most popular lies following Wednesday night time’s heavy rain.
“I made a few good putts to maintain the rating going. It was a extremely stable spherical,” Davis mentioned.
“I do know this place comparatively effectively and I’ve loads of good recollections within the financial institution to exit and play the course with, however that is by the far the cleanest spherical I’ve ever had round right here.”
The US PGA Tour star has a one-stroke lead over American Patrick Rodgers, with West Australian Hayden Hopewell one shot additional again.
The three frontrunners all began at The Lakes, with Scot Grant Forrest recording one of the best morning spherical at The Australian, a 6-under 65.
Pre-tournament fancy Min Woo Lee opened with a 5-under 66 to be simply 4 pictures behind, whereas famous person Cameron Smith settled for a 70 in his 1-under first spherical since lacking the reduce ultimately week’s Australian PGA Championship.
AAP
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