Minjee Lee has been left to rue a momentum-killing mistake on the sixth hole at Pebble Beach with the Women's US Open defending champion finishing the opening round four shots off the pace.
Lee is trying to become the first back-to-back champion since fellow Australian Karrie Webb achieved the feat in 2000 and 2001 and started with a bang at the iconic Californian course, posting two birdies from her first four holes.
But her approach to the par-five sixth hole left the world No.6 with plenty of work to do and she walked away with a bogey.
Lee made another birdie on the 10th, but dropped shots on the 12th and 16th to finish at even-par 72 in a tie for 20th, four behind leaders Hyo Joo Kim of South Korea and China's Xiyu "Janet" Lin.
"I kind of made a mistake on six, the chip into the green, and I had a long putt and I made bogey, which is quite a soft mistake for me," Lee said.
"I was two under at that point and went to one under and I feel like a little bit of momentum kind of stopped there.
"At any par five you're looking to make birdies and with the opportunities that you have around this golf course, I know how tough it can get to have the birdie opportunities."
Although she has yet to win in 2023, the West Australian has been in the mix in her past five events, including a sudden-death playoff loss to world No.1 Jin Young Ko last month at the Cognizant Founders Cup in New Jersey.
Apart from the early round blip the 27-year-old felt her game was in good shape.
"I feel like my game is there, I just haven't quite had, I guess, the momentum and just everything come together to really produce a really low one, so hopefully I can get my butt into gear and have a really good second day and the rest of the week," Lee added.
Lee is spearheading a five-strong Australian charge that includes fellow major winner Hannah Green, Grace Kim, Gabriela Ruffels and amateur Maddison Hinson-Tolchard, who attends college in Oklahoma.
Kim opened with a two-over 74 while Ruffels and Hinson-Tolchard carded disappointing 78s.
Green, the 2019 Women's PGA champion, had a miserable back nine, adding three bogeys to sign for a 76.
World No.9 Lin has never won on the LPGA Tour but finished in joint third at the recent KPMG Women's PGA Championship two weeks ago, while eighth-ranked Kim won her only major title at the 2014 Evian Championship.
They held a one-shot lead over six players at three-under 69, including Irish pair Leona Maguire and 21-year-old amateur Aine Donegan, and American duo Allison Corpuz and Bailey Tardy.
The third major of the women's golf season is offering up a record $A16.5 million purse, with $A3 million to the winner, but Pebble Beach was tough going for some of the world's best.
Top-ranked Ko (79) bombed to leave the Korean tied for 125th, while world No.2 American Nelly Korda was at four over.
Exciting young American Rose Zhang, who won in her professional debut last month, posted a two-over 74 to sit joint-39th.
With agencies.
