Victorian amateur Amelia Harris and Korea’s Jeongmin (Cecilia) Cho are locked together at the top of the leaderboard after a demanding opening round of the final 2026 regional qualifying event at The Links Shell Cove.
The pair, who played alongside each other, both carded three-under-par rounds of 69 to share the lead heading into the final day.
Conditions made scoring a challenge from the outset. What began as a hot and steamy morning quickly turned gusty, with winds exceeding 50 kilometres per hour, making club selection and shot-shaping a constant battle for the entire field.
“It was just super hot in the morning and just windy, so windy the whole day,” Harris said.
“It was quite tough because a lot of it was crosswinds, straight into, straight down, so I think that would have really affected everyone out there.”
Harris, just 17 years old, was a model of consistency throughout her round, making just one bogey across 18 holes and keeping the ball in play when it mattered most. Growing up in Melbourne, she felt the blustery conditions played into her hands.
“Being from Melbourne, obviously you get a lot of those conditions when you’re playing down the coast,” she said.
“So I’m pretty used to it. I think I took that to an advantage.”
The teenager arrives at Shell Cove in strong form, having recently posted a 17-under performance at the Australian Amateur, and is competing in her first regional qualifier with a clear goal in mind.
“That would definitely be a goal this week,” Harris said of earning one of the coveted spots in the Ford Women’s Open.
“Just keep doing what I’m doing and worrying about myself.”
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Cho’s round told a different story stylistically but ended in the same place. The Korean produced a five-birdie, four-bogey card before finishing in spectacular fashion with an eagle on the 18th hole to match Harris’s total.
“It was a bit of everything,” Cho said.
“It was a bit of my mistakes and the wind, of course. But I managed to putt well and to roll a lot of putts, so that was the good point.”
Cho, who won a regional qualifier two years ago at Duntryleague, acknowledged the round was far from her smoothest but is confident a cleaner performance is within reach.
“Tomorrow, maybe a less shaky round could be really helpful,” she laughed.
“With a solid round tomorrow, I’m feeling like a top three, that’s what I’m hoping for.”
Interestingly, the co-leaders were largely unaware of how closely matched they were despite sharing a card all day.
“I actually marked her card, but I didn’t know she was at the same score,” Cho said.
“It ended up being apparently a great round, so yeah, it was really good.”
Scotland’s Kelsey MacDonald is the only other player to finish the day in red figures, sitting alone in third place at two under par.
The final round will begin tomorrow morning at 9:17, with the live broadcast to begin from 11 AM on Kayo.
The Link Shell Cove Regional Qualifier – Leaderboard
Live: The Links Shell Cove
Thursday, 19th February
11:00 am – 4:00 pm
