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James Nitties has equalled the world record for successive birdies at the men's Vic Open, while fellow Australian Su Oh lit up the women's tournament with a hole-in-one.
Key points:
- James Nitties equalled the record set by former British Open champion Mark Calcavecchia
- Su Oh shot a hole-in-one on the par-three 15th hole
- The Vic Open is the only one of its type in the world where men's and women's tournaments are played side by side
Nitties reeled off nine straight birdies at the 13th Beach Golf Links course in Barwon Heads, equalling the record set by former British Open champion Mark Calcavecchia at the 2009 Canadian Open.
He was kicking himself after making a double bogey from the middle of the fairway on his fifth hole, before finding his range to eventually put himself into a share of second place on the leaderboard with an 8-under-par 64.
Nitties' housemate, Nick Flanagan, was atop the men's leaderboard at 10-under, with the Vic Open featuring both male and female golfers playing side by side and competing for equal prize money from the pool of $3 million.
"I don't hold any other world records that I know of so to be a part of one is pretty cool," joked Nitties.
"I had a good chance for that 10th birdie but I didn't want to break it.
"It's such a longstanding record and I wouldn't do that to Mark. It's good to hold it with him."
After starting her round on the 10th hole, Oh aced the 138-metre par-three 15th with a six iron.
Vic Open rundown
Dates: February 7-10
Venue: 13th Beach golf links, near Barwon Heads, Victoria
Fields: 156 men, 156 women
Prizemoney: $1.5 million for each event, $3 million in total
1st prizes: Approximately $250,000
Rds 1 + 2: Beach + Creek courses (both events)
36-hole cut: Top 60 plus amateurs plus ties
Rd 3: Beach course for both events
54-hole cut: Top 35 pros or amateurs, plus ties
Rd 4: Beach course for both events
She finished the first round with a 6-under 67.
The hole-in-one was Oh's seventh in competition, although five of those came as an amateur.
"I came in having had a good year, then I had two months off so I've had enough rest," Oh said.
"Now I just want to play. I've done so much practice and time off, whether I play well or not I just want to play and get some proper feedback.
"It's just really good to be back out there."
The women's Vic Open is being co-sanctioned by the ALPG and LPGA Tours for the first time in 2019.
The men's tournament is co-sanctioned by the PGA Tour of Australia and the European Tour.
ABC TV will be covering every round of the Vic Open. Rounds one and two will be 3pm-6pm in all states. Rounds three and four will be broadcast nationally — check your local guides.
AAP/ABC
Topics: sport, golf, barwon-heads-3227