Micheluzzi and Kim lead their respective Australian Opens
David Micheluzzi – in action in today’s opening round of 63 – photo Golf Australia
Day one of the historical combined gender Australian Opens is complete and two young Australians lead their respective fields at the Victorian and Kingston Heath Golf Clubs in Melbourne’s golfing mecca, the Sandbelt.
Local golfer, David Micheluzzi, who last week finished 6th at the Australian PGA Championship following a breakthrough victory in the WAPGA Championship a few weeks earlier, leads the men while new LPGA Tour recruit, Grace Kim, leads the women’s field.
Micheluzzi, who four years ago led the Australian Open at the Lakes Golf Club before finishing in 5th place behind Abraham Ancer as an amateur, has been a fine form of late, finishing inside the top ten in four of his last five starts on the PGA Tour of Australasia following a midfield finish at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.
Today, playing the Victoria Golf Club in the morning field and in the better conditions than those of the afternoon field, Micheluzzi actually began his round with a bogey at the 10th hole but soon settled into a birdie fest. Eight birdies in the next seventeen holes had him at 7 under 63 as he left the course close to midday.
He would hold that lead throughout the opening round and when play finished for the day he led by three over New Zealand’s Josh Geary and local golfer Matthew Griffin, Micheluzzi and Griffin playing the Victoria Golf Club and Geary playing the alternate layout, Kingston Heath.
Micheluzzi explained the background behind his fine start to the event and his recent good run.
“I’ve just gotten better at everything. I feel like my course management’s really good all the time. I know how to think around a golf course. Just hitting it better, just comfortable with playing these events now. I think this is what, our seventh event in the space of nine weeks, so yeah, just being comfortable in the situation. I think everything today just felt good. I actually wanted to keep playing, so I reckon I could have made a whole lot more birdies.”
“Yeah, I think when I turned pro it was scary. It was the first time I’ve actually been scared on a golf course, scared of where I’m going to hit it and if I’m going to hit it in the trees or in the bunker.
“I was worried about what everyone else thought rather than just playing golf. I think the more experience, the better. I think I’ve played enough pro events now that it’s just another round of golf. If I shoot 75, 76 I still go home, Mum tells me to unload the dishwasher, all that kind of stuff. It just feels like a normal round of golf now, which is great.
“But three years ago, when I turned pro, I was so uncomfortable and it showed – the golf was horrendous.”
Grace Kim finished 5th on the feeder tour for the LPGA Tour, the Epson Tour, and as a result earned her playing rights for the LPGA Tour in season 2023.
Today she too took advantage of the gentler morning conditions and with birdies at her first five holes she had the lead despite a bogey at the 6th. She added three more birdies on the way home and her round of 66 has her two ahead of Hannah Green, Japan’s brilliant Jiyai Shin and New Zealand amateur Fiona Xu.
Kim was asked about her fast start and suggested due diligence on the course earlier in the week made her aware of what might be possible.
“When I played on Monday, I played a match with my fiancé and I think I probably had the same amount of birdies on the nine, so I knew it was out there. I felt like a lot of the holes on the front nine, they were short but you could still be penalised, even for hitting a good shot. I just wanted to make sure I was holding on. But yeah, hit a couple of sloppy shots in there, I’m not going to lie, but still really happy with the start.
“I think I got more nervous as the holes went on. I was just like, Where are these birdies coming from? You know those times where it just goes in. I had one of those moments. I was a bit shocked, but yeah, I definitely take it all in. I’m glad I got a good round out of the way, so it’s a good start.
Kim also reflected on the quality of game needed to do well on the Sandbelt courses.
“I think the Sandbelt really shows the good players through. If you hit a bad putt, you’re going to miss it bad and if you hit a good putt, it deserves to go in. Things like that. Playing fairways, greens, making sure you just two-putt, placing yourself right is just so crucial at Sandbelt courses. Missing bunkers. Basically just don’t miss the green. You’ve got to get those contacts right, so you’ve got to be really precise around these and I think that really shows the top end of the field, for sure.”
The event’s leading world ranked female player, Minjee Lee, stayed in touch with a round of 70 to be four from the lead and tied for 9th but given she played in the more demanding afternoon conditions and will likely get better weather in the morning she remains the player to watch.
The leading ranked male player and pre-tournament favourite, Cameron Smith, finished the day tied for 64th at 1 over and summed up his day in a very ‘to the point’ fashion.
“Yeah, that was as bad as I’ve played in a long time, said Smith It was pretty shitty. Obviously I think the course is pretty difficult, the conditions are pretty difficult, but still I need to be better than that.”
Grace Kim – en route to her opening round lead – photo Golf Australia
