Monday qualifier Lee tops leaderboard in dream start to Australian Open

SYDNEY : Amateur Rachel Lee went from Monday qualifier to top of the Australian Open leaderboard on Thursday as the 16-year-old upstaged a slew of major champions in a stellar first round in Sydney.

Lee had to dash to the first tee after getting her start time mixed up but composed herself to shoot a superb six-under-par 67 at The Lakes course to hold a share of the lead with South Korean Jenny Shin.

The pair were one stroke ahead of South Korea's former world number one Shin Ji-yai.

"I thought I was at 8:38 and not 8:28 and I've learned my lesson. I won't do that again," said Lee.

"I was putting and my coach says, 'Rachel, you're on the tee'. So I just ran out there."

The Sydney schoolgirl rolled in eight birdies, including two back-to-back at the 17th and 18th holes as she closed out her round in driving rain.

Lee caused a minor stir in local golfing circles last week when she won a qualifier for next year's New South Wales Open.

However, she never imagined leading her national Open ahead of local major winners Minjee Lee (three-under) and Hannah Green (even par).

"Am I leading the Australian Open? Oh, honestly I never thought that (was possible)," she said.

"Hopefully I can do that for the next three days."

In the men's component of the dual gender event held across two courses, former champion Cameron Davis took advantage of gentle weather in the morning to shoot a nine-under 63 at The Lakes.

The tall 28-year-old sparkled on the greens in a bogey-free round featuring seven birdies and an eagle on the par-five 14th to hold a one-stroke lead over American Patrick Rodgers.

A one-time winner on the U.S. PGA Tour, Davis will tee off at The Australian on Friday, the same course where he won the event in 2017.

"I know this place