Birdies help Aussie Lee fly to share of lead in Macau

Time published 2023-10-12 at 11:15 PM (GMT +11:00)

Young Australian golfer Min Woo Lee has carded an eagle and eight birdies on his way to a share of the lead after the opening round of the Macao Open.

MIN WOO LEE of Australia plays his approach shot during the Australian Open at Royal Sydney Golf Club in Sydney, Australia.
MIN WOO LEE of Australia plays his approach shot during the Australian Open at Royal Sydney Golf Club in Sydney, Australia. Picture: Matt King/Getty Images

Australian golfer Min Woo Lee has stormed to a share of the lead after shooting an explosive nine-under-par 62 in the opening round of the Macao Open in Asia.

Lee carded an eagle, eight birdies and a lone bogey, which came at his first hole (the 10th) at the Macau Golf and Country Club on Thursday.

The young Aussie, the highest-ranked player in the field at No.46 in the official world rankings, had a share of the first-round lead with Scotland's David Drysdale, who carded an impressive nine birdies and no bogeys in his round of 62.

New Zealander Ben Campbell was one of three players a shot behind the leaders after firing a bogey-free eight-under 63 in the opening round.

India's Ajeetesh Sandhu, joint second here in 2017 when the event was last played, also shot a 63, as did South Africa's Ian Snyman.

Lee was naturally delighted with his efforts on Thursday.

"(Hitting a) 62 anywhere is a really nice score," said the 25-year-old from Perth, who is the younger brother of LPGA Tour star Minjee Lee.

"Especially on a course like this - it was tricky, and the wind got up. It was really nice to really drive it well and capitalise on those drives."

Lee, a two-time winner on the DP World Tour, played the first round alongside countryman Scott Hend (one-under 70) and Hong Kong's Taichi Kho (five-under 66), recent gold medallist in the Asian Games.