Sydney's Jenny Lee has fired a remarkable six-under-par 66 to share second place after the opening round of stage one of the LPGA Qualifying School at Mission Hills Country Club in California.
Lee, a key member of Australia's Astor Trophy-winning team in 2015 when she was living in Adelaide, recently won her first professional event in a playoff on the mini National Women's Golf Association tour in the United States.
And the good form kept rolling for the 21-year-old, who's two shots clear of Victorian Grace Lennon, who's in a tie for 8th after a tidy 68.
The pair are part of a group of 10 Australians who began their quest overnight to reach the 2018 LPGA Tour. More than 360 women entered the first of the three stages of qualifying school, which ends in November.
The Australian Golf Club’s Celina Yuan, who qualified for the 2017 Ladies European Tour, is in a tie for 113th place alongside the Queensland pair Alexandra Orchard and Nadine White, who recently graduated from Campbell University in North Carolina.
A further shot back after a two-over- par 74 is Victorian-based Queenslander Jade Shellback, Kristalle Blum from South Australia and Melbourne's Wanasa Zhou.
The Australian Golf Club’s Elizabeth Elmassian has some work in front of her after a 79, while Pennant Hill’s Paige Stubbs endured a tough day at the office on her way to an 80.