Rachel Lee sets course record in second round of Australian Women's Amateur
Rachel Lee (Golf Australia Photo)
On a day interrupted by early electrical storms, star Sydney teenager Rachel Lee held her nerve to soar into the women's lead at the adidas Australian Amateur, and pick up a course record in the process.
Lee's 7-under 65 today matches the record set by Fiona Xu in the 2022 Australian Amateur, and has helped her snare the outright lead at 10-under.
Playing alongside Lee today were Sarah Hammett (67) and Raegan Denton (72), who are her closest challengers at 8-under and 7-under respectively.
The next best with some ground to make up are Sophie Eppelstun (NSW) at 3-under, and Emily Odwin from Barbados at 2-under. Hannah Reeves and Jazy Roberts are tied sixth at 1-under.
Having navigated the recently renovated Commonwealth on day one in a tidy 3-under par, Lee came to Cranbourne ready to take advantage of the slightly more gettable layout.
Wasting no time, the 17-year-old Avondale member birdied six of her first nine holes, including her final four in a row before making the turn.
Just before Lee could tee off on Cranbourne's first (her tenth) however, the sirens blew and all players came off the course for close to two hours right as her momentum was running hot.
Calmly returning to the course, Lee piped her drive down the first and proceeded to play her final nine in 2-under, tapping in for par on the last and securing a share of Cranbourne's record.
Now the proud owner of three course records, it is likely this one will never be bettered, with Cranbourne set to close its doors in 2026.
"My putting was on," Lee said. "Although the greens were not the best condition, I think I worked my way through that pretty well."
With Hammett playing some outstanding golf alongside her, and overnight leader Denton staying in touch, Lee says the group was keeping each other motivated.
"The whole rhythm of the group was pretty good. Everybody was just playing really good, it was nice."
It is not uncommon to see Lee's name close to the top of the leaderboard, having amassed a number of amateur wins, and finishing a very impressive T24 in last year's ISPS HANDA Australian Open, but she admits seeing it there at the halfway mark this week evokes some trepidation.
"Pretty excited and nervous at the same time, I guess," she said. "I'm really looking forward to the rest of the week though.
"It would definitely be a good start to 2025 to get a win here."
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ABOUT THE
Australian Women's Amateur
The Australian Men's and Women's Amateur
Championships are Australia's
oldest Amateur Golf Championships, with both having
been played since 1894.
Long held as a match play event, in 2021 the format
changed to 72 holes of
stroke play.
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