Maguire off to a steady start in Australia

Ireland’s Leona Maguire carded a 1 over par round of 73 the opening round of the Pacific Bay Resort Australian Ladies Classic, the second tournament of the 2019 Ladies European Tour.

Maguire 24, had one birdie and two bogeys in her round, however she will be rueing a 6 on her final hole. 

New South Wales amateur star Doey Choi holds a two stroke lead after the opening round, after she fired a brilliant six-under-par 66 to sit two clear of Swedish duo Madelene Sagstrom and Daniela Holmqvist.

Choi, 18, from Concord Golf Club in Sydney, reeled off an impressive eight birdies against two bogeys in her first round. She made six birdies against a solitary bogey in her first 11 holes, with her only blemish on the difficult 17th played over water, where she failed to get up and down from over the green.

She bounced back immediately with back-to-back birdies, sinking a solid putt on the long 18th followed by a chip-in on the par-4 first and made further gains at the fifth and sixth holes before dropping a second shot on her penultimate hole, the par-5 seventh.

Choi was pleased with her best ever 18-hole score, as she had a tough time at the Australian Open in Adelaide last week.

Sophie Yip, 14, from Sydney, is the youngest player in the field and she managed to shoot a superb 71 to sit 6 shots from the lead in her first professional event.

The youngster said, “My putting was amazing today. I had 24 putts. I just came here to learn a few things from the professionals and have fun with my mum”