Johnnie Walker Classic: Defending champion and home favourite Adam Scott holds a share of the lead with American Kevin Stadler after the first day of the Johnnie Walker Classic in Perth, Australia.
The pair opened with impressive eight under par 64s at the Vines Golf Club in tricky, breezy conditions. South Korea’s KJ Choi is the nearest challenger in third after he shot 65.
Scott raced into a share of the lead after picking up a trio of birdies on his closing three holes. Stadler, son of American golfing legend Craig, hit a purple-patch of six consecutive birdies from the ninth to boost his round.
There wasn’t much to write home about for Ireland’s Peter Lawrie, Gary Murphy or Damien McGrane, who opened with a 74, one shot more than Lawrie and Murphy.
There is a strong home representation at the top of the leaderboard with no less than seven Australians commanding the top 10 places. Richard Green and Tony Carolan share third on six under with Jean van de Velde from France.
The Australian quartet of; Nick O’Hern, Brett Rumford Marcus Fraser and Ewan Porter find themselves a shot further back.
Colin Montgomerie made a steady start with a 70 while Retief Goosen and US Open champion Michael Campbell made average level-par starts.
