WA Open: West Australian Haydn Barron takes early lead as teen sensation Spencer Harrison shines on first day

Rising WA amateur Spencer Harrison displayed poise beyond his teenage years at the WA Open on Thursday, fighting through a challenging opening nine holes at one-over-par playing alongside LIV Golf star Marc Leishman before catching fire on his run home to shoot 68 and finish the day in a tie for second. The 17-year-old birdied five of his last seven holes at his home Mount Lawley Golf Club, to the delight of the local galleries, but it was no match for another West Australian Haydn Barron, who leads by three after a bogey-free seven-under-par 65 that set a new course record. Barron’s performance comes in just his second tournament back from a six-month injury-enforced lay-off. “Golf was just easy today, which doesn’t happen very often, but it’s just the way it was. So I just kind of went with it,” he said. Harrison, a Year 11 student at Wesley College, was drawn alongside international star Leishman and WA’s Jordan Doull in one of the marquee groups of the event. A double-bogey at the reachable par-five 12th (his third) could have derailed a lesser talent, but Harrison quickly steadied the ship with five straight pars before picking up his first shot of the day with a birdie on 18. It was the start of an astonishing stretch of holes for Harrison, who found his range superbly to card eight birdies in his final 10 holes, his only blemish being a bogey five at the 2nd (his 11th). During the hot streak, Harrison reeled in and then overtook his esteemed playing partners, his performance leaving him two clear of Leishman and four clear of fellow Mount Lawley member Doull, while also taking the early clubhouse lead. Seemingly unaffected by the hundreds of spectators following his group, Harrison showed composure beyond his years. “I feel like as good as I played, I still could have done better today,” he said. “I felt as though I just stuck to my own game and didn’t let anything get to me. “There were a lot of people out there today, so it could have been very easy for me to let it get away from me, but I feel like I did well just sticking in my lane and playing my game.” After a six-week break from tournament golf, Leishman was satisfied with his day’s work as he traded five birdies with three bogeys en route to a two-under 70. “There was a lot of good and a few not so good out there today after six weeks off, but, yeah, happy with two-under to start the tournament,” Leishman said. “The course is great. There’s a score out there, but you’ve got to take some risks to make birdies on a lot of holes.” As well as being impressed by the Mount Lawley layout, Leishman was full of praise for Harrison’s efforts alongside him. “Yeah, he had a great day,” Leishman added. “His last 10 holes, I think he had seven birdies. Hit it great. Got a bright future ahead of him.” A birdie at the drivable first was the perfect start for Barron, who added three more to reach the turn in 32 strokes. Back-to-back birdies on 12 and 13 moved him into outright lead, with his closing birdie the icing on a very satisfying cake. Behind Barron, a crowded leaderboard is jockeying for position with Harrison sharing second with Louis Dobbelaar (Qld), Tom Power Horan (Vic), Cam John (Vic) and Adam Bland (SA).