Doey Choi during the opening round of the Australian Ladies Classic. Image: David Tease

Sydney amateur Doey Choi is the clubhouse leader after the opening day of the Pacific Bay Resort Australian Ladies Classic – Bonville near Coffs Harbor.

Choi, the ruling Queensland and South Australian amateur champion, fired an impressive 6-under 66 in difficult morning conditions to lead by two batters from Sweden's Madelene Sagstrom and Daniela Holmqvist.

Western Australians Hannah Green and Whitney Hillier are the leading Australian professionals at 3-under and are part of a four-way draw for fourth place.

Local favorite Sarah Kemp, who played back during the LPGA Tour in the past two weeks with great performances at both the Vic Open and the Australian Women & # 39; s Open, opened with a 1-under-71.

With only 23 players below par, it was good for a share in 10th place.

At the top of the standings, Choi waved eight birdies against two bogeys on their way to a best 18-hole score, a round she said came as a surprise after a bad game at the Women's Australian Open in Adelaide last week

"I did not play well last week, so my self-confidence was not too high," she said after her card in South Australia.

"I have not done well yet, so it was fun to play a solid wave today, I made some very good photos, hit a lot of greens and did not miss too many fairways."

Chois genius grabbed most of the attention on the first day, but some of the more alleged players of the tournament remain in the mix.

Sagstrom, a triple winner of the Second Symetra Tour in America, played steady golf to be second in 4-under and delivered a disciplined approach for her good score.

"We had a really set game plan," she said. "We just tried to hit fairways, hit greens and let the putter roll because I know that I can make birdies with the putter.

"It was just very stable out there, it was fun."

Regular rain showers were a frustration for the morning players to deal with, but were released around noon when the afternoon field began.

Green, who started with back to back birdies but left hopping in the front nine, said that the weather was annoying & # 39; was, although ultimately not a big problem.

"By the end of the first nine, I struggled a bit with the putter," she said.

"I just touched the wrong side of the pins and left myself in difficult spots to two putt.

"Overall, however, I was very pleased with how I hit the ball, I hit a lot of greens and offered myself many birdie opportunities."

Of the midday players Holmqvist was the choice, her 4-under-68 including two birdies on every nine and no fallen photos.

& # 39; 31 putts, & # 39; she said when she asked for the key to her round. "The hitting of balls was pretty good, I hit 17 greens and reached two of the par-5's in two.

"I wish I had made some more putts, but are not we all doing this in this game?"

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