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Jordan Spieth off to a slow start at a blustery Australian Open

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Jordan Spieth described the finish of his first round at the Australian Open as poor after beginning the defence of his title.

Defending champion Jordan Spieth struggled with windy conditions at the start of his Australian Open defence.

The world No 1 laboured in Sydney to a level-par 71, and was five shots off the pace set by 26-year-old Australian Lincoln Tighe.

Spieth found conditions challenging, and said: "We played a lot of those holes in side winds. It was just a guessing game really.

"And when you bring hazards into play it makes things even harder. It's been a while since I've played in wind like this.

First round leaders

-5 Lincoln Tighe (Aus)
-4 Matthew Jones (Aus)
-3 Geoff Ogilvy (Aus)
-3 Todd Sinnott (Aus)
-3 Chun-An Yu (Kor)
Others
-2 Brett Rumford (Aus)
-1 Lee Westwood (Eng)
E Jordan Spieth (USA)
E Adam Scott (Aus)
+2 Nicolas Colsaerts (Bel)
+4 Darren Clarke (Nir)

"The toughest part is deciding what shot to hit. It's hard to pick the shot. You can use the same club and end up with a 30-yards difference based on if you hold the ball up or ride the wind."

Since lifting the Australian Open title in 2014, the 22-year-old has gone on to triumph at the Masters and US Open, his first major victories.

Starting his Australian Open defence on the back nine, Spieth reached two under par by the turn, but bogeys at four and nine, his closing hole, saw him pegged back. Australian Adam Scott was also on level par.

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Lee Westwood is the highest placed European after round one
Image: Lee Westwood is the highest placed European after round one

"That last hole was really tough," added Spieth. "I just didn't know what to hit. And I ended up two clubs off, thinking the wind was helping when it was actually hurting."

Spieth was not the only big name to find the going difficult.

Golf

England's Lee Westwood was marginally better off than Spieth, on one under par, with Australian Adam Scott matching Spieth's 71, Darren Clarke posting a four-over 75 and Peter Senior recording a nine-over 80.

Senior, 56, rolled back the years to win the Australian Masters last week, but said of his latest 18 holes: "It was a terrible round. I felt a bit embarrassed really.

"I played a lot better than 80. I'm a proud man, but I'm a little ashamed."

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