2013 Women’s Australian Open: Kangaroos, spiders and the amazing Lydia Ko

There is plenty going on in Canberra this weekend with most of the action happening at Royal Canberra Golf Club where the 2013 Women’s Australian Open is being held.

The opening round of the 2013 Women’s Australian Open was dominated by the magic of Lydia Ko. The 15-year-old amateur golfer from New Zealand is already a star of the game.

Ko’s opening round of 10-under par included a pitch in for eagle, a chip-in, 11 birdies and three bogey’s. It was incredible golf that Mike Clayton and Peter Stone waxed lyrically about in their respective articles on the Golf Australia website.

Peter Stone put it like this;

Those across the ditch in NZ knew a little of her fledgling amateur career but the world at large knew nought. Heaven help what might have happened to her had her parents chosen the US to immigrate to when Ko was aged seven instead of New Zealand where there is relative anonymity half a world away from the hype Americans so often generate.

In the US where little that happens elsewhere in the world seldom gets noticed, she was shown scant regard. Her coach Guy Wilson, of the NZ Golf Institute, was confident Ko would receive an invite to the first major of the year as the No 1 world ranked amateur to the first major of 2012 (the Nabisco) but she was ignored with half a dozen other amateurs getting the nod.

There has also been a bit reported on the Redback spider bite Swedish golfer Daniela Holmqvist received during her pre-qualifying round on Tuesday. She then squeezed out the venom with a tee!

Got bit by a poisonous black widow today on course, a caddy said that people die from it and that I should seek medical attn.. I shot 74.