Young people top tight Port Phillip packages

Louis Dobbelaar lashes out at Commonwealth.

Emerging West Australian Abbie Teasdale has taken another step in her development and shared the lead after day one of the Port Phillip Open Amateur.

Teasdale, a member of Royal Fremantle and has been a junior member of a few very young WA teams for the past two years, continues to show encouraging signs with an opening 75 at Commonwealth.

She shares the lead with Julienne Soo, a member of nearby Woodlands at home after her career at the University of Oklahoma ended mid-year.

But it is a tight women's ranking with various handy pre-tournament fantasies.

Four women – Steph Kyriacou, Sarah Wilson, Kathryn Norris and Steff Vogel – are at the forefront, while another five share seventh place, only two babck.

The men's edition, also at Commonwealth, has a tightly packed leaderboard, with Queenslander Louis Dobbelaar the early leader.

At the comeback of an injury, Dobbelaar had made a small opening in the field until he took a double bogey on the 17th.

But the multiple Australian representatives, clearly benefiting from spending time with PGA Tour star Cameron Smith, still managed to lead the best 71 of the day with one in two under.

Among the five out of 72 are rising Sydneysider Harrison Crowe, who continued his good form in the Victorian capital where he was so prominent in the Australian Amateur Championship this year.

Crowe shares second with colleague New South Welshman Corey Lamb, South Australian couple Billy Cawthorne and Liam Georgiadis and Victorian hopeful Lawrence Curtis.

Victorian duo Ben Henkel and Andre Lautee carded even-par 73s to share seventh place with three rounds to play.

Former AFL champion Brendon Goddard, fresh from a start in Gippsland Super 6 of the Australian PGA Tour, did not do so well.

The former St Kilda and Essendon champion opened fiercely with a birdie on the second hole and had another one on the 17th, but in between three double bogeys on their way to an opening 86.

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