Steph Kyriacou lived up to her pre-tournament tag as one of the favourites as the Sydneysider tries to prevent a men’s clean sweep of the Webex Players Series events on the Australasian tour.
On a day of high drama with Brady Watt and Caitlin Peirce both signing for holes-in-one, a steady Kyriacou made the most of a rare tournament at home to be in contention after the opening round at Castle Hill Country Club.
The 25-year-old and LPGA Tour regular is one of Australia’s most decorated female stars and took little time to find her groove in the first tournament of her year with a five-under 67 on Thursday.
Kyriacou drove the green to set up eagle on the par-four 16th hole and only had one bogey as she trailed Watt and Declan O’Donovan by a shot following their 66s.
Asked about the eagle, Kyriacou said: “I hit it to about 10 feet, so that was pretty good.
“I actually didn’t see it. My eyesight’s not very good, which is kind of sad cause I’m only 25. But I just kind of hit it and it was right at the flag, so I just kind of walked away. I got up there, it was 10 foot and just holed the putt.”
Kyriacou has kept her expectations in check this week as she prepares for the two big Australian events on the WPGA calendar, but she will have more than a few people hoping she can clinch the trophy if she’s alive down the stretch on Sunday.
All four Webex Players Series events this season – in which men and women compete against each other but play from different tees – have been won by men. In Kyriacou, the women potentially have their best chance.
Watt (-6) made a stunning start at Castle Hill after making an ace on the long par-three 17th – not that he saw it.
“I just kind of hit it exactly how I wanted, and then just put the club in the bag and walked off, which is unbelievable because you kind of think you should watch it go in,” he said. “I got the laser out, saw the pitch mark and actually thought it was long, but it was in.
“(A hole-in-one) was in my head I was thinking, ‘oh, I haven’t had one in a little while’, so that was good. It’s always nice to have one. I think it’s my fifth now.”
While Watt may have missed watching his big moment, there was no stopping Peirce, whose flawless eight-iron skipped into the cup on the second hole.
“It just looked all over it the whole way,” she said.
Afternoon temperatures soared in Sydney’s north west as O’Donovan made the most of being out in the first group of the morning to be bogey free at six-under.
Local Daniel Gale joined Kyriacou at five-under with former NRL champion Ryan Papenhuyzen on his bag while South Korea’s Sanghee Lee also carded a 67.