Kylie Henry to fore in Canberra after late burst

A storming finish helped Kylie Henry join Solheim Cup captain Catrona Matthew in making a promising start in the ActewAGL Canberra Classic.
Kylie Henry picked up five shots in her last five holes at Royal CanberraKylie Henry picked up five shots in her last five holes at Royal Canberra
Kylie Henry picked up five shots in her last five holes at Royal Canberra

Henry covered her last five holes in five-under at Royal Canberra to open with a four-under-par 68, leaving the Scot tied for fifth spot.

On a day when Korea’s Jiyai Shin set the pace with a 65 that contained eight birdies, Henry transformed her round by following an eagle-2 at the 14th with birdies at the 15th, 16th and 18th.

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That burst came after Matthew had transferred her winter work in her garage at home in North Berwick on to the golf course to also break par. In her first round of the year, the 48-year-old carded a 70.

Six birdies, including two to finish her front nine, went down on Matthew’s card as the long-time Scottish No 1 started her season on an encouraging note.

“I’ve been doing a lot of practice at home and I’ve got a net set up in my garage, where I’ve been working quite hard on my swing,” she said before teeing off in an event that is co-sanctioned by the LET and ALPG.

Former world No 1 Shin, who won the 2013 Australian Women’s Open on this course, upstaged newly-crowned Oates Vic Open champion Minjee Lee (67) and European No 1 Georgia Hall (69) in a low-scoring group.

“I have great memories at this golf course,” admitted the leader. “The course has changed a lot and they have made it harder. It made me focus on my play and that worked pretty well today.”

Another former world No 1, Laura Davies, led after she went out in 30, six-under, and then moved to seven-under with a birdie at the second - her 11th.

However, the English player was gutted that she had to settle for a 68 after dropping three shots in her last five holes.

“After a great start, it was a disappointing finish,” said Davies. “It was just one bad tee shot on the eighth, where I pulled an 8-iron.”

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Michele Thomson sits joint-38th after a level-par 72, one more than Leith-based American Beth Allen signed for.

But it was a disappointing day for both Gemma Dryburgh and Carly Booth as they had to settle for 76 and 77 respectively.