Two tied for lead at Open qualifying
Australians Neven Basic and Chris Gaunt shot 3-under-par 69s Tuesday to take a one-stroke lead after the first round of the 36-hole Australasian qualifying tournament for this year's British Open.
At the wind-swept par-72 Kingston Heath Golf Club, eight golfers shot 70, including Australian Kurt Barnes, one of three qualifiers from last year's tournament. Barnes looked set to lead the tournament after the first round before double bogeys on 16 and 17.
Four others were two shots behind after 71s. The final round will be played Wednesday.
"It was blowing a gale out there, the holes coming home on the back nine were quite windy so it's pretty tough," said Gaunt.
The top three golfers in the 45-man field will qualify for this year's British Open from July 19-22 at Royal Lytham & St. Anne's in northern England.
US Champions Tour regular Peter Senior shot 72 and was three off the lead, as was former US PGA Tour player James Nitties.
Peter Lonard shot 73, Craig Parry 74 and Matthew Millar, another of last year's qualifiers from the Kingston Heath tournament, had a 75.
Jeong Jin of South Korea, the only player from outside Australia or New Zealand, shot 73.
Other international qualifying tournaments for the British Open will be held January18-19 at Royal Johannesburg & Kensington in South Africa, March 1-2 at Amata Spring Country Club in Bangkok, May 21 at Gleneagles Country Club in Plano, Texas and June 25 at Sunningdale Golf Club outside London.