Laura Davies opened the defence of her Handa Women's Australian Open title with a leaderboard-topping five-under-par 68 on Thursday.
The four-time major winner shot six birdies and one bogey at the Commonwealth Golf Club to establish a two-shot lead over a group of six players.
"I putted well last week but I did not hole anything. When you have two eight or nine-footers for par and they go straight in the middle, that's the sort of thing that keeps me going. I had a really short one, a tap-in, on seven," Davies said.
"I've come here in a confident mood, thinking I am one of the players with a chance to win if I play well and putt well - today is a perfect start."
Rebecca Flood, Felicity Johnson, Jenni Kuosa, Giulia Sergas, Alison Whitaker and Soo-Jin Yang share second after hitting 70s.
11 March, 2010