BARWON HEADS, Australia (AP) — Hannah Green's first tournament appearance since November saw her tied for the lead after one round of the Vic Open tournament at 13th Beach Golf Links.
The West Australian won the Women's PGA tournament on the LPGA tour in 2019. She shot a six-under 67 on the par-73 Creek course on Thursday and was tied for first with Gyu Rin Kim and Karis Davidson.
Kim and Davidson shot 66s on the par-72 Beach course. The trio have a one-shot lead over Australian Whitney Hillier, who shot 67 on the Beach course.
“I thought I was going to be a bit rusty and I did mis-hit a couple of shots out there but from memory I knew where to miss it and where not to hit it,” said Green. “I banked on some experience in today’s round."
The Vic Open features a men's and women's tournament in mixed groups at 13th Beach. Both the Beach and Creek courses will be used again on Friday, with only the Beach course featuring for the final two rounds on the weekend.
In the men's tournament, Australian John Lyras shot an 8-under 64 to take a one-stroke lead over Dimitrios Papadatos, with four others tied for third, two behind Lyras.
The top three finishers in the men's tournament will qualify for the 150th British Open at St. Andrews, scheduled for July 14-17 on the Old Course. Following the cancellation of the New Zealand Open this year due to pandemic quarantine restrictions, the qualifying spots were allocated to the Vic Open.
The Vic Open was not held last year due to the pandemic.
___
More AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
