A final hole birdie was one of eight in a scintillating opening round which sent Aussie gun Min Woo Lee to the top of the leaderboard on the opening day of the Australian PGA in Brisbane.
The world No.45 was brilliant starting with a seven-under round of 65, seriously outpointing playing partner and three-time champion Cameron Smith who made bogeys on two of his final three holes in an ugly start to his title defence.
Smith, who carded a two-over par 73, finds himself a massive nine shots behind Lee already with Adam Scott also making a massive opening day impact shooting a five-under 67, including seven birdies, blighted only by two bogeys which cost him a share of the lead.
Lee, who secured playing rights on the US PGA Tour for 2024 after a year which included winning the Macau Open, only arrived in Brisbane on Monday after playing in the DP Tour’s season-ending tour championship in Dubai.
He only made three birdies on his opening nine holes before storming home with another five on the back to seize the lead with 30 players under par among the morning groups which started play at 6am local time at the Royal Queensland Golf Club.
Scott, who talked about his strong desire to win for the first time since 2020, had a bogey before his first birdie but like Lee found them plentiful in a positive start to his quest for a third PGA title.
Smith, however, never got going and the 2022 British Open winner managed just a single birdie and three bogeys to find himself in a tie for 56th in the early stages of the tournament.
Marc Leishman and Lucas Herbert are among the big Aussie names teeing off this afternoon.
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