Australian PGA championship runner-up Mathew Goggin is tied for the lead at the Australian Open.
Australian trio share the lead at the Royal Sydney
Australian PGA championship runner-up Mathew Goggin is tied for the lead after the first round at the Australian Open.
The Tasmanian shot a course-record equalling 65 to finish seven-under-par for the day alongside Western Australian Stephen Dartnall and Sydneysider Ewan Porter.
Fresh from narrowly missing out in Queensland, Goggin carded six birdies on the front nine at the Royal Sydney on Thursday and he is eager to overcome that recent disappointment.
"It's always nice to get back into the trench straight after playing well the week before," he said.
"I got off to a great start today. It's only the first round - there's a lot of golf to play - but hopefully I'm in a similar position on Sunday."
Field
A round of 62 on Monday at New Brighton allowed Dartnall to qualify for the tournament and six birdies and an eagle on the day was a dream start for him.
Porter completes the Australian trio, meanwhile, after he birdied three of the last four holes to join the pair at the top of the leaderboard.
Australian Masters winner Rod Pampling is two shots back with New Zealanders Mark Brown and David Smail, while Australian PGA winner and favourite Geoff Ogilvy shot an even round of 72.
Darren Clarke, who is at the event in a bid to break back into the top-50, is also level-par after the opening round.
While John Daly stole many of the headlines, despite shooting 78, when he
took his frustrations out on a spectator's camera.
