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An early morning seven-under par (65) from Jarrod Lyle has given the Australian the clubhouse lead after the opening round of the 2011 Australian Open.
It was an impressive start to the tournament by Lyle, who took advantage of calm conditions to shoot five birdies and an eagle on the par 5-14th which saw him hit a 7 iron to three feet.
The highest ranked golfer in the field Dustin Johnson opened with a bogey on the par 4 10th but five consecutive birdies from the 12th-17th helped the American to turn at three-under after bogeying the 18th (his 9th hole).
Three birdies on the front nine (his back nine) helped the world number five to finish with a 6 under (66).
Tournament drawcard Tiger Woods turned it up on the back 9 to sign off for a bogey-free 4 under (68) with at least four putts lipping out.
Top ranked Aussie Jason Day got his round started with back to back birdies on holes 6 and 7 before stumbling on the 11th with a double bogey after laying up into the water. Birdies on 13 and 17 followed by a bogey on 18 helped Day record a -3 (69).
In disappointing scenes, John Daly hit the wrong ball on the 10th before hitting numerous balls in the water on the next hole which saw the American throw in the towel. Daly shook hands with his playing partners and promptly walked off the course.
The PGA released a statement, saying “The PGA does not need this kind of behaviour tarnishing the achievments of other players and the reputation of our tournaments. John is not welcome at Coolum.”
The pick of the afternoon golfers was American Nick Watney, who recorded five birdies in his final six holes for a -6 (66) to sit just one shot off the pace.
The shot of the day went to 2009 champion Adam Scott who holed a 6 iron on the par 5 8th for albatross on the way to a -3 (69) which saw 2 bogies in the final four holes.
In other results of note:
Steven Jones, Fred Couples and Greg Chalmers all recorded rounds of -5 (67). While 2010 champion, Geoff Ogilvy struggled with a 2 under round of 70 which saw him have 5 birdies and 3 bogeys.
After finishing in the dreaded position of last on the Nationwide tour money list after missing the final round of the second last tournament of the season, James Nitties bounced back to shoot a 5 under round of (67).
The leading amateur is 17 year old NSW golfer Jake Higginbottom, who shot 5 birdies and a bogey to finish at -5 (68).
Leaderboard
-7
J. Lyle
-6
N. Watney
D. Johnson
-5
S. Jones
C.Hancock
J. Nitties
F.Couples
G.Chalmers