Jordan Spieth seems to being enjoying Aussie hospitality, he jumped out to a one-shot lead after the first round of the Australian Open.
Spieth is in the third leg of his world tour. He finished T-35 in the WGC-HSBC in China and was runner-up last week to Hideki Matsuyama in Japan at the Dulop Phoenix Open.
He started his round with a birdie at the first hole, added another at the par-5 fifth, but gave a shot back to par with a bogey at No. 6.
After a birdie at No. 10, he picked up three consecutive birdies at Nos. 14-16. A bogey at No. 17 left him with a four-under-par 67 on the par-71 Australian Golf Club outside of Sydney.
Spieth has become one of the young stars in America. He had a majical year in 2013 and was named Rookie of the Year. He did not collect a win this season on the PGA Tour, but did finish runner-up twice and had eight top-10 finishes.
Aron Price and Scott Gardinier are both one shot back of Spieth at three-under-par.
Lurking at two-under-par is world No. 1 and defending champion, Rory McIlroy. He managed a two-under-par 33 on the first nine holes, but was only able to post an even-par 36 on the second nine holes.
This is just McIlroy’s second event back after taking several weeks away from competitive golf for the jury trial in his lawsuit against his former management company, Horizon.
He finished tied with Justin Rose and Victor Dubuisson last week in the DP World Championship in Dubai, behind repeat winner Henrik Stenson.
Adam Scott finished runner-up to McIlroy last year in this event. The young Irishman spoiled Scott’s triumphant homecoming wearing the Green Jacket from the 2013 Masters.
Australian golf fans may be disappointed this week, they were hoping to see a McIlroy/Scott rematch for the title on Sunday.
Scott was grouped with Spieth on Thursday and got off to a horrid start with a double-bogey-six at the first hole. He added three more bogeys on his front nine for a five-over-par 40. He righted the ship on the back nine with a pair of birdies to finish at three-over-par 74, but well down the leaderboard and in danger of missing the cut.
The Australian Open has been contested since 1904 and has a rich history. Gary Player hoisted seven Aussie Open trophies. Jack Nicklaus won six titles here and Greg Norman collected five.