Katherine Kirk seizes control after first round of Australian Open

Katherine Kirk carded an 8-under-par 65 at the Royal Adelaide Golf Club to take a two-stroke lead after the first round of the Women's Australian Open on Thursday in Adelaide, Australia.

The Australian native, who is vying for her first win on the LPGA Tour since 2010, got out of the blocks in a hurry by making four birdies on her first five holes. She finished with eight on the day.

"I had a lot of birdie chances. I think I hit maybe 16 greens, 15 greens, so that helps. But I had a couple of tap-ins too for birdie," Kirk said. "There are low numbers to be had out there. There are a lot of birdie opportunities. I was just fortunate I got off to a good start and just kept the momentum going."

Kirk, who last emerged victorious in the 2010 Navistar LPGA Classic, held a two-stroke lead over Americans Marissa Steen and Jane Park, as well as Taiwan's Min Lee and South Korean Chella Choi.

Steen admitted that the weather played a significant role in her strong play on Thursday.

"It was really good; the wind was low," Steen said. "First group out, the greens were rolling really pure. I was joking, I didn't see a blade of grass out of place out there the whole day.

"I think it was all of the above. I didn't trip once. I either hit every green or was right on the fringe where I was still able to putt, so I gave myself a lot of chances and took advantage when I had wedges in my hands."

Park highlighted her impressive performance with an eagle on the par-4 third hole. She also had four birdies to remain in the thick of contention.

"That hole is obviously super-short but very difficult, and you need to position yourself pretty well off the tee," Park said of her eagle. "I was able to do that today, and I had a perfect 60-yard shot into the hole to a tucked back pin. I couldn't get too aggressive with it, but I hit the absolutely perfect shot, my playing partners said right when I hit it, 'it's in the hole.' It flopped right in after I think two bounces."

Eighth-ranked Canadian Brooke Henderson sat four strokes back of Kirk at 69, American Michelle Wie shot a bogey-free 70 and No. 1-ranked Lydia Ko had a 71 to reside in a tie for 25th place. The 29-year-old Ko won this event when it was contested at Royal Melbourne Golf Course two years ago.

LPGA Player of the Year Ariya Jutanugarn of Thailand shot a 72 and defending champion Haru Nomura of Japan had five bogeys and finished with a 75.