Aussie Katherine Kirk holds lead on day one

Queenslander Katherine Kirk has taken the early lead on Day One of the Women's Australian Open at Royal Adelaide Golf Club. Kirk shot -8 under par which included a bogey free round during the morning session. "I had a lot of birdie chances," Kirk said. "I think I hit maybe 16 greens, 15 greens, so that helps. But I had a couple of tap-ins too for birdie. "There are low numbers to be had out there. There are a lot of birdie opportunities. "I was just fortunate I got off to a good start and just kept the momentum going." A large part of the leaderboard were all able to post low totals with Chella Choi, Jane Park and Marissa Steen all sharing second position with -6 while they watched the afternoon players struggle with the strong winds. Min Lee was the best of the later starters with six under while Pornanong Phatlum and Lizette Salas both finished with -5. World Number One Lydia Ko finished the day two under par with Brooke Henderson and Ha Na Jang scoring -4 and -3 respectively. Australia's number one ranked player Minjee Lee managed one under with the experienced Karrie Webb finishing at three over par.