Cameron Smith lamented a "crappy" start to the Australian PGA Championship as his title defence fell at the first hurdle.
Smith shot a 2-over 73 on day one at Royal Queensland and finds himself a long way off the lead with three days to play.
The world No.18 bogeyed his first hole (the 10th), then quickly got back on par, but dropped two shots on his back nine as his playing partner and countryman Min Woo Lee raced away to 7-under.
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Smith is hunting a fourth Kirkwood Cup, and won the event last year, but now finds himself with a mountain to climb in Brisbane.
"It was frustrating, upsetting," Smith said after his round.
"I really couldn't get anything going. I couldn't get it close enough to the hole.
"I felt like I would have a half decent shot and it would go to 30 or 40 feet, and I would never really have a chance at birdie.
"It was just crappy."
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Lee – whose sister Minjee claimed another Greg Norman Medal on Tuesday night – was the clubhouse leader after shooting 7-under, until being overtaken by Spanish raider Joel Moscatel Nachshon.
The 25-year-old world No.45 was happy with his start to the tournament.
"Pretty stress-free, I had control of my ball and putted pretty well," he said.
"My approach play was pretty solid, which you need around this course. Everything went well.
"The game plan was pretty solid, missed it in the right spots and hit good approach shots and drove really well, so keep doing the same thing (for the rest of the tournament)."
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