The other Cam – and the Lee no-one saw coming – take the Australian Open by storm

Cam Davis, not Smith. Rachel Lee, not Minjee. They’re the Australian Open leaders after day one.

Sydney teenager Rachel Lee lines up a putt at The Lakes Picture: PGA Australia/Gregg Porteous.

Early at The Lakes. Sun and moon crossing paths. Morning, says the sun. Thank you and goodnight, says the moon, disappearing behind enough early-morning mist to warrant a lighthouse next to the clubhouse. Cam Davis smooths his opening offering to the gods of the Australian Open. It lands smack-bang in the middle of the fairway.

Meanwhile, a 16-year-old Sydneysider by the name of Rachel Lee, playing her first Open, still on a high from a practice round with her hero, the former world No.1 Jiyai Shin, is preparing for what she reckons is her 8.38am tee time ...

Two taps of the golf ball later and Davis walks away from his first hole, the 10th, with a birdie in his hand. He won’t see bush all day. The whole scene is a dream … the birdsong … the swarm of patrons … the fairways lush as a fresh-laid carpet … the blue skies before the afternoon storm … not a breath of wind … Davis is chirping to his caddie as if he’s never seen the world so bright. “I know this place relatively well,” he says.

Meanwhile, Rachel Lee goes to the practice green, 10 minutes up her sleeve, she reckons ...

The marquee morning groups have Cam Smith, Min Woo Lee, Minjee Lee, Marc Leishman, Stephanie Kyriacou, Robert MacIntyre and Davis bracketed together in the same little pocket of a tournament as big, sprawling and glorious as Tim Winton’s Cloudstreet. We witness a veritable feast of one of the great sights and sounds in sport, the flushing of a golf ball.

Min Woo continues rocking and rolling for a five-under-par 67. He does it on his ear. Fluffs a few but the short game is pristine.

Cameron Davis of Australia plays a shot from the bunker on the 8th hole at The Lakes. Picture: Getty Images.

He’s been worried about The Lakes. He had a half-arsed preparation. Played nine holes, walked the rest. He only has to worry about The Australian course for the rest of the Open.

“I feel like my golf game is right there,” he says. “It’s just trying to keep the same mentality. Meaning, being happy off the course and feeling fresh before I go.”

Minjee begins seamlessly, gets the mid-round wobbles as if the gods have forgotten she’s here and then recovers for a tidy enough three-under 70. Heaven help the rest if she hits full stride.

Watching Minjee is a woman in a nice, white, golf-themed dress, oversized sunglasses and wide-brimmed hat. Her mum. Given the choice between watching Minjee or Min Woo, Clare Lee has opted for a leisurely morning stroll with her daughter.

Smith, bless him, keeps battling against what seems a perilous predicament for any golfer – “my arms are sort of disconnected from my body” – which brings to mind The Black Knight in Monty Python and the Holy Grail. He toughs out a one-under 72 in his first outing since last week’s dis­aster at the Australian PGA Championship.

The connections between arms and body, and club face and ball, and status and scorecards, remain blurred. Not once has he lost his head.

“Yeah, frustrating,” he says. “I think it could have been a few less. I missed a couple of putts towards the end of the round when I started to feel better. A little bit frustrating, but it was better … there’s definitely something to build on. I didn’t feel as kind of anxious and uncomfortable, I guess. I think tomorrow will be a good day.”

Meanwhile, Rachel Lee nearly has a heart attack right there on the putting green …

It’s the other Cam, the 28-year-old Davis, a bit of a Cammy Davis Jr in Australian golf, who takes the Open by the scruff of the neck with a blazing opening round. He’s tall as Centrepoint Tower, broad-shouldered, with a stance so powerful and wide you could play tunnel ball through it. He makes seven birdies and the sweetest eagle you’ll ever see at the picturesque, water-laden 520m par five, which he reduces to veritable pitch-and-putt, before verily signing off on a nine-under-par 63 and the lighthouse, sorry, the clubhouse lead.

“It was a really solid round of golf,” he says. I’d love to be right up there on Sunday.”

Suddenly the sight of a 16-year-old golfer running towards the tee box like she’s on fire. Rachel Lee has made the most grave of rookie errors, mucking up her starting time. Perhaps a good 50m sprint in a state of wild panic is the perfect preparation for golf because she posts a six-under-67 to be the overnight leader no one has seen coming until the last minute.

“I thought I was at 8.38, not 8.28,” she says. “I’ve learnt my lesson, so I won’t do that again. Hopefully. I was putting (on the practice green) and then my coach just said, Rachel, you’re on the tee!” So I just ran for my life.”

And played out of her skin. Lee’s having the most wonderful week. No one saw this coming: her first professional tournament at a NSW Open qualifying event. No one saw this coming: her one-under at Ryde-Parramatta on Monday to qualify for this first Australian Open. No one saw this coming: she was granted a practice round on Tuesday with Shin, the player she calls “my hero”. No one saw her coming to the tee until it was nearly too late. No one saw this coming: her one-shot lead from … Shin.

Rachel Lee took the Open by storm right before a big thunderous one forced a brief pause in play.

Sixteen-year-olds do the best interviews. How was today? Heaps great! How are you feeling? Heaps good! How excited are you? Very excited! That sort of thing. Asked if she was intimidated by contesting a tournament against Minjee and Shin, the Lee no one saw coming replies, “Yeah, definitely. I had a practice round with Jiyai Shin at The Australian. It was very nice and I learnt heaps from her. She was telling me to challenge myself and shape shots. I used them quite a bit today and it worked out really well. It’s very ­exciting!”

For the record, Jiyai Shin trails her by a stroke after their opening rounds at The Lakes but you have to hand it to this Open as another Shin, Jenny of the US, took The Australian layout apart with a brilliant 66 late in the day to join Lee at six-under.