Western Australians Hannah Green and Kirsten Rudgeley will aim to break their country’s 12-year women’s golf Australian Open drought this weekend after catapulting themselves to a three-way tie for second during day two in Adelaide, just one shot behind Frenchwoman Celine Herbin.

Ladies European Tour veteran Herbin added to her strong day one six-under effort with a three-under at 69 shots during the afternoon session at Kooyonga Golf Club on Friday, but will face tough competition from Rudgeley and Green in front of their home crowd.

A major champion with seven LPGA victories, many will see Green as the potential favourite heading into the weekend’s final two rounds of action.

She tallied two birdies and an eagle to begin the afternoon and only picked up her form from there, tallying four birdies in the final nine holes, shooting a three-under at 69 for the day.

No Australian has won the tournament since Karrie Webb in 2014 and Green said she was ready for the challenge the weekend would bring.

“I’m super excited,” she said.

“I hope there are a lot of Australians who come out and watch this weekend…you’ve got some of the world’s best players so it’s a great opportunity for them to see up close how we do it.

“Yesterday I thought the turnout was great and even this afternoon I thought it was really good to see so many people…Adelaide has always supported sporting events and even when we played here five, six years ago, they were some of the best crowds we played in front of.

“I think I’ll definitely need to rely on them come this weekend because it’s going to be hard to kind of try and close out this tournament but I’ve put myself in a good position.”

Earlier in the day, 25-year-old Kirsten Rudgeley surged up the leaderboard after recording a five-under for 67, flicking a switch in the back nine to score five birdies.

“I played nicely all day, I played steady and my ball-striking is really good at the moment,” she said.

“I’m putting it nicely and just giving myself chances…that’s what you’ve got to do in a golf tournament.”

Tied with Green and Rudgeley for second spot is Frenchwoman Agathe Laisne, while Victorian Stephanie Bunque and New South Wales’ Kelsey Bennett are part of a four-way tie in third place.

RISING SA GOLF STAR’S SPECIAL HOLE-IN-ONE MOMENT

Rising South Australian young gun Raegan Denton has made a hole-in-one in her Australian Open debut at Kooyonga Golf Club in Adelaide, marking a magical moment in front of her home crowd.

The 18-year-old amateur, who started golfing with her brother in their hometown of Coffin Bay on the Eyre Peninsula as a six-year-old, shot the hole-in-one at the seventh hole to move her score back to level par with two holes to play.

“My emotions are just so high,” Denton said after her first Aus Open debut.

“As much as my scoring wasn’t as good as I’d hoped it would be today, it was still so much fun to be in this environment and I had so many people out there who I knew watching, which was just really awesome.

“To have such a big crowd on that hole-in-one was awesome…I’ve never had one in a tournament before so it was a really big moment and I’m so happy.”

Denton has produced big years in golf recently, winning the Queensland Amateur at the end of 2024 before claiming the Jack Newton International Classic in Sydney and the Australian Junior Amateur in 2025.

She has also earned a scholarship to Louisiana State University later this year as part of the renowned college’s women’s golf program.

The rising young star’s family was in attendance at Kooyonga on Thursday to watch her take another big step forward in her career.

“My mum, dad, brother and other people from SA golf who I’ve known for years are here so it’s just really cool,” she said.

“I don’t think there’s any chance of me forgetting this any time soon.”

DEFENDING CHAMPION’S AWKWARD START

Australian star and reigning women’s PGA champion Minjee Lee will look to put a challenging opening day of the 2026 Australian Open behind her after shooting on par at Kooyonga Golf Club in Adelaide.

The 29-year-old shot two bogeys and a double bogey during Thursday’s morning session as she quickly fell away from the leading pack in unpredictable, windy conditions, finishing at an equal-24th on the leaderboard.

Despite the tough start to the Open, Lee remained positive ahead of the next three days of golf.

“I didn’t hit it to the best of my ability so hopefully tomorrow I can get something going,” she said.

“Ball striking was a bit lacking but my putting was good and my short game was good so I think if I can just tidy up my long game a bit I’ll be in a better position.”

It has been 12 years since Australia has seen a home champion, with Karrie Webb being the last women’s Aus Open victor in 2014.

Lee said she was aware of the added pressure this year’s Australians were under to perform and snap the drought but remained focused on the task at hand.

“I try not to think about it. I know everyone would love to see a home winner but there’s a lot of golf to be played and it’s just about putting one foot in front of the other.”

Fellow Western Australian Hannah Green produced a solid morning session to sit in 10th spot at two-under, while New South Wales’ Kelsey Bennett and Claire Shin both finished equal-third for the session with a score of three-under.

“Overall I feel like I’m pretty happy with two under par,” Green said.

“It’s very easy to make bogeys out here on this course. There are some shorter holes where you can hit one bad shot and then that’s it, so you need to make sure you’re staying on top of your entire game.”