SOLID START TO NSW OPEN TITLE DEFENCE BY LYDIA KO

FROM STUFF.CO.NZ WEBSITE
A year on from her history-making New South Wales Open win, Kiwi Lydia Ko opened her title defence in typically solid fashion in Sydney 
The 15-year-old, ranked No 1 female amateur in the world, carded a five-under-par opening round of 67 to sit one shot off the pace at Oatlands Golf Club.
Ko's bogey-free opening round saw her tucked behind four co-leaders, Australians Bree Arthur, Stacey Keating and Minjee Lee and Swede Caroline Hedwall, the 2011 champion. Veteran English golfer Laura Davies was one shot behind Ko after carding a 68.
Ko eagled the sixth and then added birdies on seven and nine to make the turn in four-under. She added a further birdie on the par-five 13th to be firmly in contention in the three-round ALPG event.
When Ko triumphed last year as a 14-year-old she produced a bogey-free round of three-under 69 to win by four strokes and become the youngest winner of a professional tournament, beating Japanese star Ryo Ishikawa's mark of winning at 15 years, 8 months.