Given the honour of hitting the first shot of the tournament at Sunriver Resort’s Meadows course, Must began with six straight pars to set a steady tone, up-and-downs for par on three and four crucial in maintaining good early momentum.

She turned in 1-over after a bogey on seven but picked up birdies at 10, 11 and 13 to be even with the card midway through the back nine.

There was a bogey at the par-3 16th but Must recovered quickly with a birdie at the very next hole, lipping out for eagle at the par-5 17th. She tapped in for birdie and then made par at the last for 71 to lead the way for the Aussies.

In a format where the best three of five scores count each day, Must’s 71 was joined by Grace Lennon’s 73 and 75 from Jessica Cook for a team total of 6-over par after Round 1.

Led by 3-under 68 from Joanna Coe, the United States lead at 5-under par, three strokes clear of Canada with the Australian team eight shots further back in third.

Sienna Voglis (76) was 3-over on her round before a double-bogey at the par-5 17th while Lisa Jean will be eager to bounce back in Round 2 after a round of 8-over 79.

While pleased with her own performance, Must singled out debutant Cook for contributing to the team in the first round.

“Team-wise, I felt like the team did incredible,” said Must.

“Grace having 2-over par, she’s always going to be a steady golfer, so that was pretty awesome, but Jess was incredible.

“For her to have 4-over par was pretty special. She hasn’t had much experience playing a lot of international events so to have her card count is a big confidence boost going into rounds two and three.”

With windy and cooler conditions expected for Round 2, Must is confident that the Aussies can make inroads into the deficit and push higher up the leaderboard.

“It’s pretty cool sitting in that third position. It means tomorrow that we get to play with the leading groups,” Must added.

“We’re not too far behind, and that can turn around pretty quick with three team scores counting.

“We’re certainly going to give it our all. It’s going to be a great opportunity to have a good score and see how the others can fare in the tough conditions that are supposed to happen tomorrow.”

Round 2 begins at 2am AEST Saturday with Lisa Jean the first of the Aussies to tee off at 2:55am.

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