American Lee Williamson, ranked 611th in the world, stormed home late in the opening round to take a surprise two-stroke lead in the Australian Open yesterday.
Williamson, who finished 84th on this year's US Nationwide Tour money list, carded four birdies on the homeward nine to finish the day at seven-under par 65.
The American bolter held a two-shot buffer over two-time winner Robert Allenby and two other Australians, Kim Felton and Andrew Bonhomme, all on five-under 67s.
PHOTO: EPA
A regular on the Canadian Tour between 2003 and 2006, Williamson carded 10 birdies, six of them coming in his first eight holes.
"I scored better than I played," Williamson said.
"I putted well, I pitched in twice and feel like I hadn't pitched in for years. I'm glad I'm going back out early tomorrow and I'll just try to continue what I've got going," he said.
Pre-tournament favorites, Geoff Ogilvy (68), Aaron Baddeley (70) and Peter Lonard (71) are in touch, but they're all chasing Williamson, who started his round in the second last group of the day.
Asked if he was overwhelmed to find himself two shots in front in his first Open appearance, Williamson replied: "A little bit."
Baddeley and Lonard each flirted with disaster before salvaging their opening rounds as both chase a third Open title.
Baddeley started with three-straight birdies before carding three bogeys over his next six holes, including an 80m approach shot into the water on the seventh hole from a perfect position on the fairway.
However, two birdies on his back nine gave Baddeley a round of two-under.
Lonard, last week's winner of the Australasian PGA title, was two-over through 14 holes, but three birdies over his final four holes kept him in the hunt.
Former US Open champion Ogilvy had five birdies in his opening round, including a 20-foot birdie putt on the par three 15th hole.
Ogilvy said he was desperate to win his national Open and is pleased with his opening round.
"All in all it was pretty good really," he said. "I would've thought under par is a good score any time you play here."
Also chasing a third Australian Open title is Allenby, who picked up six birdies in a blistering seven-hole stretch before a late bogey left him at five-under.
Allenby said he was well-placed to add to his 1994 and 2005 Open triumphs having taken advantage of benign morning conditions.
"The greens were fantastic," he said.
"Every putt I looked at I saw the right line every time. That's always a nice feeling.
"Overall I'm very happy with the way I started," Allenby said.
Defending champion John Senden is among a cluster of players at one-under 71.
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