Korea's Lee leads Ariya in Australian Open

South Korea's Lee Il-Hee shot a bogey-free five-under 68 to lead Thai teen Ariya Jutanugarn by a stroke after the opening round of the LPGA Australian Women's Open at Royal Melbourne on Thursday.
World No.1 Lydia Ko was looming in a three-way tie for third after opening with a three-under 70, which included an eagle on the par-five 14th.
There were 49 players at one over or better on a packed leaderboard, among them England's Melissa Reid and Charley Hull and veteran French player Gwladys Nocera.
Lee, winner of the 2013 Bahamas Classic on the LPGA Tour, said she wanted to become as famous as some of her supremely-talented countrywomen.
Lee has led just once after the first round of an LPGA Tour event –- in Malaysia in 2013 when she finished third.
Lee said she only made a late decision to come to Melbourne after her coach convinced her she had the game to contend on a course that claimed her before the cut in her only previous appearance in 2012.
"It’s good to see how improved my golf is this year because I was here in 2012 (and) how I see the golf course at that time and now (is) totally different," she said.
"It’s really, really fun to see how much I have improved since then."
Ko battled a persistent cough to contend in the opening round, but Ariya overshadowed the Kiwi sensation.
At 19 and in an injury-interrupted career, the Thai star has never finished worse than 11th in seven previous LPGA Tour starts and has the power game to help tame Royal Melbourne’s par fives.
Ariya first leapt to prominence when she earned a spot in the 2007 Honda LPGA Thailand at the age of 11, making her the youngest player ever to qualify for an LPGA tournament.
Ko's best moment in Thursday's round was a 12-metre eagle putt on the par-five 14th.
"It's definitely good to start off well here," said the 17-year-old, who became golf's youngest-ever world No.1 earlier this year.
"It's a tough course and I tried to stay patient.
"I didn't hole that many putts but I didn't make that many mistakes with it either, so that's important," she said.
Source: AFP