Amateur Rachel Lee unexpectedly shot to the top of the Australian Open leaderboard after a sensational first round at The Lakes course in Sydney. The 16-year-old, who entered the competition as a Monday qualifier, tied for the lead with South Korean Jenny Shin after shooting a remarkable six-under-par 67.
Lee had a rocky start after getting her tee time mixed up, rushing to the first tee to get to her round on time. Despite the early chaos, she maintained her composure and played a fantastic round, which helped her secure the lead along with Shin. This put them one stroke ahead of South Korea’s former world number one, Shin Ji-yai.
After the round, Lee shared, “I thought I was at 8:38 and not 8:28 and I’ve learned my lesson. I won’t do that again. I was putting and my coach says, ‘Rachel, you’re on the tee’. So I just ran out there.”
Lee impressed everyone by sinking eight birdies, including two consecutive ones at the 17th and 18th holes, all while braving the heavy rain. Prior to the Australian Open, she had already garnered attention by winning a qualifying match for next year’s New South Wales Open. However, she never anticipated leading the national Open, surpassing local major winners Minjee Lee (three-under) and Hannah Green (even par).
When asked about her newfound lead, Lee admitted, “Am I leading the Australian Open? Oh, honestly I never thought that (was possible). Hopefully I can do that for the next three days.”
Meanwhile, in the men’s event of the dual gender tournament, former champion Cameron Davis took advantage of favorable weather to shoot a remarkable nine-under 63 at The Lakes, securing a one-stroke lead over American Patrick Rodgers. Davis, a one-time winner on the U.S. PGA Tour, had an exceptional round with seven birdies and an eagle on the par-five 14th.
Davis will be competing at The Australian on Friday, the same course where he previously won the event in 2017. He shared, “I know this place relatively well, so I felt like I had plenty of good memories in the bank to go out and play the course with. That’s by far the cleanest round I’ve ever had around here and without the wind, it was awesome to make the most of the conditions.”
At The Lakes, onlookers anticipated a strong performance from Cameron Smith, but the former British Open winner struggled, finding water twice in his opening five holes. He managed to bounce back and finished with a one-under 71, landing eight off the lead.
In another part of the course, compatriot Min Woo Lee shot a solid 67, trailing by four shots as he chased after back-to-back trophies following his Australian PGA Championship win. Additionally, Chile’s Joaquin Niemann ended the day on a strong note with a 66 at The Australian, while former world number one Adam Scott finished nine behind Davis with an even-par 71, also at The Australian.
(Reporting by Ian Ransom in Melbourne; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
