Harry flies high in Adelaide
Welsh rookie lights up Kooyonga with a sparkling 66 and a closing eagle as the Women’s Australian Open begins with a burst of class and nerve.
Darcey Harry seized the early lead at the Women’s Australian Open on Thursday after a superb six-under-par 66 at Kooyonga Golf Club in Adelaide, where the Welshwoman capped a dazzling opening round with an eagle on her final hole.
Playing in the same group, Germany’s Alexandra Försterling stayed close with a five-under 67, the pair taking full advantage of the calmer morning conditions and both producing eagle putts at the par-5 ninth to set the pace.
For Harry, the round had rhythm, poise and a flourish. The 22-year-old, a winner on the Ladies European Tour at last year’s Hulencourt Women’s Open, made birdies at the 10th, 14th, 18th, first and fifth, with her only blemish coming at the 11th.
“The group was great,” Harry said. “It was so lovely playing. We had a really good flow to it and everyone was playing well. So it was nice to kind of keep each other going and really try for it.
“I was joking to my caddie and I was like, ‘Oh, it’d be great to finish with an eagle now.’ And my drive actually ended up in a divot, so I was like, ‘Oh God, okay.’ Focus, we just try and get it out and it ended up on the green and just holed that. That’s lovely.”
Försterling’s day was every bit as eye-catching. The four-time LET winner made two eagles, the first at the par-4 13th when she holed her second shot from 114 yards, and mixed in four birdies and three bogeys in a round that continued her encouraging return after an injury-hit 2025.
“I don’t know when was the last time that I had two eagles, so I’m very, very happy,” Försterling said.
She added: “I would say I’m getting closer for sure [to being back to my best]. I keep working on my swing and on my body. I can still feel the back, unfortunately, but it’s holding together. I think the hard work [I put in] during the winter, the hours of hitting balls into the wall in German winter really paid off, so it’s really happy to see.”
American rookie Anna Morgan was alone on four-under after posting the best afternoon round in the wind, finishing with a birdie at the ninth. A further six players shared fourth on three-under: Austria’s Emma Spitz, Australia’s Kelsey Bennett, Italy’s Alessandra Fanali, England’s Annabell Fuller and France’s Agathe Laisne and Celine Herbin.
Bennett, fresh from her win at the Australian Women’s Classic, kept her form rolling with a 69 built on five birdies. “My ball striking was pretty solid again today and these greens are just so pure,” Bennett said. “So if you get a good roll on them, they’re likely to go in. It still feels pretty surreal [to have won last week], so I’m very happy with it.”
One of the loudest cheers of the day belonged to local amateur Raegan Denton, who made a hole-in-one at the par-3 seventh on her way to a 75. “To have such a big crowd on that hole-in-one is awesome,” Denton said. “I’ve never had one in a tournament before so it’s a really big moment and I’m so happy.”
Among the home favourites, major champions Hannah Green and Minjee Lee opened with rounds of 70 and 72 respectively, while Singapore’s Shannon Tan, the LET Order of Merit winner, signed for a 71. Green said: “It was kind of hard to read the greens today with the pin positions. A couple of them I was kind of baffled with, how bad my read was.
“I played with Shannon and Minjee and I felt like Shannon, she didn’t hole anything. So it was kind of tough for us to feel confident on the greens. But all in all, pleased with a two-under-par.”
Round one belonged to Harry, though, a young player with a hot hand, a cool head and, by day’s end, a share of Adelaide’s golfing spotlight all to herself.