Kelsey Macdonald leads the Australian WPGA Championship through 18 holes after firing a sensational course record 64 (-7) at Sanctuary Cove Golf & Country Club.
The Scottish star had a day to remember carding six birdies and holing in a 40-foot eagle putt on the last to take the outright on Thursday. This also came after she opened with a bogey at the par-4 1st.
“Well, the first hole wasn’t that great!” Macdonald said. “So I had nothing to lose from then on going forward. I just positioned [well] off the tree, hit my irons really well, gave myself opportunities, and then it was just nice to finish the way I did – three, three, three, back-nine 29. I was delighted.”
The course record scorecard follows three months of golf in Australia for Macdonald, who earned her WPGA Tour of Australasia card back in December. The Scotswoman has also competed on the Ladies European Tour (LET) for over a decade having turned professional in 2013.
Macdonald explained: “Before Christmas, I came over [to Australia] and did the qualifying school at Coolangatta and then was successful with Category 3 status. I flew out here on the 2nd of January. So I’ve been here since [then]. I’ve taken advantage of great weather and good golf courses – a bit of travel. When I left Scotland it was minus seven degrees, so I can’t complain! Just a great opportunity to keep playing for me.”
The 35-year-old leads last week’s winner, home favourite Hannah Green, plus rookie Charlotte Heath from England by one shot in Queensland.
Macdonald said: “Yeah, I’m pretty excited [for the next few days.] But I generally can’t win it on the first day, so I’ve just got to stick to the process and keep doing what I’m doing and hopefully hole some putts and we’ll see how tomorrow goes.”
Green meanwhile, winner of the Women’s Australian Open in Adelaide four days ago, continued her fine form on Thursday firing a bogey-free 65 (-6). Two weeks prior, the Australian also earned her seventh LPGA Tour victory in Singapore.
“I felt like I was somewhat yawning out there a few times,” World no. 7 Green said. “Which was quite bad, but also not surprising of me. I think the rain probably woke me up a little bit, caught us off guard, but it will be nice to have a nap this afternoon.
“I felt like I hit the ball good. I think I only missed one green and even then I was still able to putt from that. I knew there was the potential if you’re hitting it well to be able to make a lot of [birdies]. If I can continue to do that throughout the rest of the week, I should be in good form.”
While rookie Heath, an LET Access Series (LETAS) graduate, carded seven birdies and dropped just one shot to also post a 65 (-6).
“It’s quite Florida-esque [out there],” Heath said. “And I’m based in Florida now, so it felt quite comfortable to me with the kind of Bermuda grass and [hitting] into the grain. I feel very familiar with that.
“I made a good start. It played quite soft out there, so it was easy to attack some of the pins. And yeah, the greens are rolling good, so you could make some putts too.”
Four players share fourth on five-under par at Sanctuary Cove Golf & Country Club, a group which includes England’s Meghan MacLaren, runner-up at Magenta Shores two weeks ago, Switzerland’s Vanessa Knecht, Czech Republic’s Lucie Vachova and Indonesia’s Kristina Yoko.
Vachova is making her first LET start of the season and carded seven birdies on Thursday.
Yoko meanwhile was seven-under par through 13 holes before dropping two shots late into the afternoon at the 4th and 8th (the WPGA Tour star started on the 9th).
Eight players round off the top-10 in a tie for eighth on four-under par. This group includes Australia’s Hannah Reeves, New Zealand’s Momoka Kobori, Germany’s Leonie Harm, Italy’s Alessandra Fanali, Sweden’s Moa Folke, Spain’s Harang Lee, India’s Diksha Dagar, and Singapore’s Shannon Tan, the 2025 LET Order of Merit winner.
The Australian WPGA Championship continues tomorrow at 6:15am. You can follow along with the tournament on our socials – @LETgolf on Instagram and X and Ladies European Tour on Facebook and YouTube. #AusWPGA
