Fortinet Australian PGA Championship - Day one digest

Everything you need to know from day one at Royal Queensland Golf Club.

A trio of home favourites rose to the top of the leaderboard as the 2023 DP World Tour campaign got under way at the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship.

Here is everything you need to know from day one at Royal Queensland Golf Club.

Lee puts on a show

Min Woo Lee treated his home crowd to a short-game masterclass on day one in Brisbane. This pitch at the par-five 15th set up a tap-in birdie...

Two holes later Lee pulled off a tremendous par save, getting up and down from a tricky spot in the sand at the 17th, before closing with a birdie from around 12 feet to share the lead with Jason Scrivener and John Lyras on six under par.

Meronk breaks long run of pars in style

Adrian Meronk kicked off his first round with a birdie but had to settle for 13 straight pars before he picked up his next shot. Then two came along at once as he reeled off back-to-back gains on the 15th and 16th to get to three under. He came agonisingly close to making it three in a row but his long-range effort on the 17th just slid by.

Scrivener's stunning hat-trick

Scrivener made just one bogey in his first round but bounced back from it in stunning fashion. Having cancelled out his opening birdie with a dropped shot at the fifth, he reeled off three straight gains at the sixth, seventh and eighth to kick-start his round. He began that run with an 18-foot birdie putt on the sixth before taking advantage of the long seventh from close range. The 33-year-old then completed the hat-trick from around 30 feet at the eighth before three more birdies on the back nine took him to six under.

Scott enjoys home comforts

Major Champion Adam Scott may have had a 6am tee time on Thursday but that did not stop the locals from coming out in numbers to support their home hero. Scott, who opened with a five-under-par 66 to sit one shot off the lead after 18 holes, was grateful for the backing his group received. He said: "It was great. It was incredibly early but as we were walking to the tee, people were streaming out to the golf course. It’s great to see everyone coming out."

Højgaard twins get Danish backing in Brisbane

Brothers Rasmus and Nicolai Højgaard are in the field for this week's season-opener, and although they are a long way from their native Denmark, they still had some home support on day one. Nicolai opened with a 68, while Rasmus posted a 69.