Lauren Walsh leads the Irish charge following the first round of the Australian Women's Classic at Coffs Harbour.
Walsh posted a one-under 69 on the Ladies European Tour event, leaving her five shots off the trio of Darcey Harry of Wales, Austrian Emma Spitz and Sweden's Moa Folke who all raced out with six-under 64s.
Walsh’s start was steady as it comes. She had 13 pars in her first 14 holes, with a bogey at the ninth the only outlier. Walsh finished strongly however, with birdies at the par-three 15th and par-five 17th ensuring she signed for an under-par card.
Anna Foster and Annabel Wilson are two shots further back and sit inside the top 50 after the opening round.
Dubliner Foster and Armagh’s Wilson were in the same group alongside Morocco’s Maha Haddioui, the latter also finishing on one-over par.
Foster struggled on the front nine with a run of three bogeys in a row seeing her out in 37, and she fell to four-over par with another bogey at the 12th, but birdies at 13, 16 and 17 left her in better shape.
Wilson also bogeyed the 12th and sat at three-over but like her playing partner, followed it with a birdie at the 13th and another at the 15th which left her in a tie for 42nd.
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