Gold Coast (Australia), March 19 (NationPress) Diksha Dagar stood out among the Indian players after the initial round of the Australian WPGA Championships, taking place at the Par-71 Sanctuary Cove Golf and Country Club. She delivered an impressive first-round score of 4-under 67, positioning herself at Tied-8th on the leaderboard.

Dagar trails the leader, Kelsey Macdonald (64), by four strokes, with Macdonald setting a new course record during her opening round. Hitaashee Bakshi also began her campaign positively, finishing her round with a score of 2-under 69.

The other Indian competitors include Pranavi Urs (72) and Vani Kapoor (73), who faced challenges in their opening rounds, ending up at T-68 and T-81 respectively, with scores of 1-over 72 and 2-over 73.

Diksha managed a flawless round without any bogeys. She commenced her round on the ninth hole, marking the start of the back nine. After birdying the tenth, she added three more birdies on the front nine, concluding the day at 4-under par. The two-time LET champion is currently in T-8 position.

Hitaashee Bakshi (69), who aims to rebound after a challenging three weeks on the LET, commenced on the front nine, playing even par initially. She recorded birdies on the fourth, sixth, and ninth holes but had a bogey on the fifth and a double bogey on the eighth, resulting in a three-shot drop. Ultimately, the 21-year-old added two more birdies on the 12th and 18th holes, finishing her day at 2-under par and placed at T-23.

Bakshi maintained accuracy, hitting the fairway on every hole, although her bogey and double bogey occurred on two of the four holes where she missed the Green in Regulation.

Kelsey Macdonald leads the tournament by a stroke after a remarkable opening round, achieving a new course record of 7-under 64 at the Sanctuary Cove Golf and Country Club. The 35-year-old from Scotland started her round with a bogey on the first hole, but quickly turned things around with a birdie on the fourth hole. She added two more birdies on the seventh and ninth holes of the front nine, and followed up with three additional birdies on the back nine at the 11th, 12th, and 17th holes, finishing her round with an eagle on the 18th hole. Macdonald only missed the Green in Regulation on the first hole during her record-setting performance.

Local favorite Hannah Green is in second place, just one stroke off the lead, alongside Charlotte Heath from England. Green appears to be in excellent form, having recently won in Adelaide and secured her seventh LPGA title just two weeks ago in Singapore.