Lunn and Bailey share lead at Women’s NSW Open

New South Wales’ Karen Lunn has continued on her great start to the year with a four-under par 68 today to share the lead with Sydney’s Rachel Bailey after the opening round of the Bing Lee / Samsung Women’s NSW Open being played at Oatlands Golf Club.

Both Lunn and Bailey sit atop of a jam packed leaderboard, with 21 players under within three of the co-leaders.

The morning players had to contend with persistent showers, while the afternoon players played in overcast and blustery conditions .

Lunn said after her round “I’ve been playing well for a while, I’m hitting the ball well, my short game is pretty sound.”

“You just have to ride the wave for as long as it lasts. You don’t know how long it’s going to last in this game I playing well, feeling pretty healthy, my body is pretty good at the moment which, obviously when you get to my age, is one of the key elements.” added the nine time winner of the Ladies European Tour.

Bailey, who is returning from hip surgery mid last year, was happy with her round which started with a bogey, but then she posted five birdies in the last 17 holes.

“I played really consistent, hit nearly every fairway and made some clutch putts. The greens are really soft, so you could throw it in their like a dart” she said after her round.

Leading the chase is none other than the 14-year teenage World No.1 amateur Lydia Ko. Ko, fresh off her Australian Amateur win on the week-end is one of six players just one back. South Australian Stephanie Na, South Korean Hae-Rym Kim, New South Wales Nikki Garrett, Norway’s Marianne Skarpnord and Victorian Stacey Keating all sit alongside Ko.

Five players are at two-under par and right in the mix including Wales’ Becky Morgan who is playing here for the first time and England’s Melissa Reid who is the highest ranked player here this week on the Rolex World Golf Rankings. France’s Gwladys Nocera, Queensland’s Tamara Johns and two-time winner of this event New South Wales’ Sarah Oh all posted 70’s.

Ko, is currently the leading amateur at three-under par. The leading amateur at the conclusion of the tournament receives a $1,000 voucher managed through an HSBC banking account and administered by Golf NSW. The voucher will directly contribute to the reimbursement of the player’s expenses.

One of the favourites Queensland’s Katherine Hull got off to a great start but lost her swing mid round to finish at one-over par 73 and is tied for 31st position. One of the crowd favourite’s England’s Laura Davies had a frustrating day to also finish at one-over.