Uihlein leads Perth International

PERTH — American Peter Uihlein carded a seven-under 65 to lead after the first round of the European and Asian Tour co-sanctioned Perth International at Lake Karrinyup Thursday. Uihlein battled windy afternoon conditions to post six birdies and an eagle in his opening round to lead Frenchman Romain Wattel and India’s Shiv Kapur. “Playing out here, it’s always a treat and it’s one of my favorite courses,” said Uihlein of the Alister Mackenzie-designed course. “It’s always a treat when you get to play them. I think that’s why I enjoy it so much because it’s just a fabulous golf course. It’s well-designed and it’s a challenge and it’s fun.” He made birdies at the 3rd, 4th and 7th holes before a chip in eagle at the 9th hole ignited his round. “It was nice to hole one out, it was good,” Uihlein said. “I heard it hit the flag before people kind of stood up and started applauding. It’s always cool to see the reaction, one of those cool moments.” Kapur battled through with a shoulder injury that almost ruled him out of the tournament to shoot a six-under 66 with Wattel. Wattel returned to Australia this year as a professional after playing previously as an amateur. Sitting outright fourth after the opening 18 holes was Australian Rhein Gibson who fired five-under 67. South Africa’s world No. 21 Louis Oosthuizen finished with a two-under 70 after starting strongly with three birdies in his first six holes before fading. Last year’s winner Denmark’s Thorbjorn Olesen opened with a one-under 71. Thompson in front In Thailand, Lexi Thompson had two eagles in an 8-under 64 Thursday to take a one-stroke lead over Q Baek at the LPGA Tour’s Thailand tournament. Amy Yang, the defending champion, shot 66 and was two strokes behind after the first round. Two golfers were tied for fourth after opening 68s — Azahara Munoz and Jenny Shin. “Two eagles definitely helps out the scorecard,” Thompson said. “We couldn’t have asked for better conditions, weather-wise and golf course, so just happy to be out here.” The 20-year-old Baek won her first and only LPGA title on home soil in South Korea in 2014. She had an eagle and five birdies in her round of 65. Currently ranked No. 4, Thompson could overtake No. 3 Stacy Lewis as the top-ranked American with a win this week in Thailand and become the first American to win the event in its 10-year history. She got off to a quick start with an eagle at the par-5 first hole, followed by two more birdies and another eagle on the par-5 seventh to make the turn in 30. Thompson bettered her low round at Siam Country Club’s Old Course by two strokes and finished one stroke away from matching the course record of 63 after missing a birdie putt at the last. Thompson is playing with a new driver this week, and said she used it on nearly every hole, hitting 11 of 14 fairways. — Agencies