Golf: Chris Downes missed the worst of a rain-affected first round of the Australian Open yesterday to lead by one shot at the new Moonah Links course about 100 km outside Melbourne.
Downes thrived in the calm morning conditions to card six birdies and one bogey for a five-under-par 67 before heavy rain fell in the afternoon.
Just 28 of the 123 players in the field broke par in what is shaping up to be a stern test.
Downes (23), from Brisbane, leads former Australian Masters and Australian PGA winner Peter Lonard by one stroke.
Stuart Appleby, who won the championship in 2001, fired four consecutive birdies and two bogeys on the opening six holes of the challenging layout before completing a round of 69.
His putt for birdie rolled out of the cup on the par-five 18th which left the Orlando-based 32-year-old in equal third place with Craig Jones, Craig Parry, David McKenzie, Richard Green, Nathan Green and American Ricky Barnes.
"I'll definitely take 67," said Downes. "Obviously it's got to be pretty benign out there to shoot that score. If any wind gets up, a 72 to a 75 is a good score."
Australian Masters champion Robert Allenby, who had not played at Moonah Links before, said he was happy with his even-par 72. "It is the toughest golf course we have in Australia," said the world number 16.
The Australian Golf Union (AGU) wanted a more positive start to the national championship than last year's controversial first round, when officials wiped the scores and rescheduled a 54-hole tournament after players complained about the rock-hard greens at Melbourne's Victoria Golf Club.
Appleby, the highest-ranked player in the event, expects few players to break par in the hot summer winds on a course featuring some choking rough and 77 bunkers.
Moonah Links designer, Australia's five-time British Open winner Peter Thomson, said: "It's an enjoyable course for a pro golfer. We're trying to sort out the sheep from the goats."
Lonard said: "It definitely has a British Open feel to it."
(Par 72, Aus unless stated)
67 - Chris Downes.
68 - Peter Lonard.
69 - Craig Jones, Ricky Barnes (US), Craig Parry, David McKenzie, Stuart Appleby, Richard Green, Nathan Green.
70 - Andrew Tschudin, Gareth Paddison, Andrew McKenzie, Peter Fowler, Aaron Byrnes, Andrew Pitt.
71 - Greg Chalmers, Stephen Leaney, Peter Senior, James Nitties, Michael Wright, Marc Leishman, John Senden, Aaron Baddeley, Jarrod Moseley, Scott Hend, Craig Spence, Adam Wilcox, Anthony Gilligan.
72 - Euan Walters, Matthew Ecob, Scott Laycock, Jean Van de Velde (Fra), Tony Carolan, Jens Nilsson (Swe), Matthew Millar, Dean Alaban, Tom Davis, Robert Allenby, Nick O'Hern, Stephen Allan, Michael Sim.
73 - Westley Rudel, Steven Conran, Andrew Buckle, Terry Price, Rod Pampling, Craig Carmichael, Martin Doyle, Andrew Bonhomme, Paul Sheehan, David Bransdon, Ryan Haller, Marcus Fraser, Jack Doherty (Sco) Mahal Pearce, Alastair Sidford, Stuart Leong .
74 - Kris Mikkelsen (US), Andrew Webster, Scott Gardiner, Mitchell Brown, Wade Ormsby, Peter O'Malley, Eddie Lee, Stephen Scahill (Nzl), Ryan Palmer (US), James McLean, Shane Tait, Marcus Cain, Stuart Bouvier, Richard Backwell.
75 - Michael Barry, Cameron Percy, Paul Gow, Chris Massie, Brad Kennedy, Mark Allen, Ewan Porter, Sam Brazel, Paul Spargo, Danny Vera, Adam Le Vesconte, Richard Moir, Anthony Painter, David Diaz.
76 - Heath d'Altera, Mathew Goggin, Geoff Ogilvy, Richard Ball, Steven Bowditch, Kyle Woodbine, Craig Lee (Sco). 77 - Nick Flanagan, Adam Crawford, David Harding, Paul Devenport, Brad Andrews, Todd Morgan, David Lutterus, Brad Lamb, Adrian Percey, Steve Collins, Paul Marantz, Richard Lee, Ben Bunny, Adam Blyth, John Serhan. 78 - Daniel Gaunt, Joe Ogilvie (US), Kurt Barnes, Michael Clayton, Daniel Hyndman, Henry Perks. 79 - Ed Stedman, Michael Pearson (US), Philip Francis (US). 80 - Daniel Stevenson, Andrew Dodt, Kim Felton. 81 - Jason Pavese, Jarrod Lyle. 82 - Eddie Barr (Irl). 83 - Jason Dawes.
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