Former champion Minjee Lee has showed her class once more to escape the carnage on a dramatic opening day at the $18 million Women's US Open in Pennsylvania. World No.1 Nelly Korda was among the big names to endure a first-round horror show as Lee led a faltering Australian challenge with a steely even-par 70 at the beautiful but beastly Lancaster Country Club outside Philadelphia.
Lee shook off two sloppy three-putts and a painful long-range lip-out on the back nine to be tied for fifth, just two shots off the pace in pursuit of a third major championship in three years - and a $US2 million ($A3 million) pay day at the richest event in women's golf history. It was no coincidence fellow former winner Yuka Saso topped the leaderboard with a two-under 68 as a raft of superstars slipped out of contention on the opening day. Journalism for the curious Australian across politics, business, culture and opinion.
Korda's hopes of back-to-back majors - and a seventh win of the year - ended on her third hole, the brutal par-3 12th, when the American hit three balls into a stream en route to a ghastly septuple-bogey 10. Korda wound up with an 80, as did New Zealand's former world No.1 Lydia Ko and Canada's fellow multiple major winner Brooke Henderson.
The day's average score was more than five over par, the highest in a decade at a US Open, with American prodigy Rose Zhang (79) and retiring great Lexi Thompson (78) among those to also fall victim to the treacherous conditions. Lee, tho.