Add Category
Minjee Lee put the Australian Open leaders on notice with a late birdie in the women's first round, while Cameron Smith struggled in the men's field at the dual-gender tournament.
Key points:
- Minjee Lee shot a 2-under-par 70 in the first round
- Fellow Australian Grace Kim leads the women's field on 7-under
- Cameron Smith is eight strokes behind the men's leader, David Micheluzzi
Lee finished with a 2-under-par 70 at Melbourne's Victoria Golf Club, just missing an eagle chance at the par-four 18th hole when her approach shot landed 1.8 metres from the pin before her putt went awry.
The women's world number four made no mistake earlier on the par-five eighth hole, nailing an eagle with a long putt, while her round also included another birdie against two bogeys.
Lee — who won this year's women's US Open — sits five shots behind fellow Australian and round-one leader, Grace Kim, who played her opening round at nearby Kingston Heath.
Kim teed off early on Thursday in benign conditions that helped deliver her birdie blitz before the wind picked up later in the day.
Lee said she played well in the more difficult conditions.
"I hit it pretty solid. I just need to make a couple more putts to have that extra low one," she said.
"I drove it really well so I was in … prime position for my second shots but I found it a little bit tricky reading the greens."
The top three scores in the women's field — including that of Lee's fellow major winner, Hannah Green (68) — came at Kingston Heath, which is generally considered the easier of the two courses.
Lee's younger brother, Min Woo Lee, was three groups behind and finished level with the card on the men's par-70 layout at Victoria.
Smith endures challenging round
Smith's 1-over 71 left the Queenslander a distant eight shots off the pace in his quest to complete the rare Australian Open and PGA Championship double.
The men's world number three won his third Australian PGA Championship in Brisbane last Sunday.
Smith is well adrift of surprise first-round leader David Micheluzzi, who sizzled with a 7-under 63 to be three strokes clear of the field.
Compounding Smith's woes was a penalty stroke on the last hole at Victoria for an unplayable lie off the tee.
"It was all pretty rubbish to be honest. That's as bad as I've played in a long time. It was pretty sh***y," Smith said.
"The course was pretty difficult. The conditions were pretty difficult, but still I need to be better than that."
Smith is languishing in a tie for 62nd place and needs to remain in the top 70 on Friday to avoid the halfway cut.
Of more concern is the introduction this year of a second cut after Saturday's third round to allow the Australian Open women's field to share the fairways with the men for the first time.
Only the top 30 players and ties in both events will feature on Sunday, leaving spectators facing the prospect of missing out on seeing the reigning men's British Open champion.
AAP/ABC