FILE PHOTO: Jun 24, 2021; John's Creek, Georgia, USA; Su Oh plays her shot from the second tee during the first round of the KPMG Women's PGA Championship golf tournament at the Atlanta Athletic Club. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hagy-USA TODAY Sports/File Photo
MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Some 15 years after teeing off at the Australian Open as a 12-year-old, home golfer Su Oh is again making a splash at her national event after emerging from a prolonged form slump to snatch a share of the clubhouse lead on Thursday.
Oh shot an opening round of 66 at Kingston Heath on Melbourne's sandbelt to be level on seven-under par with South Korean amateur Yang Hyo-jin, the pair upstaging a slew of major winners at the dual gender event.
Oh, 28, had been tipped for big things having become the Australian Open's youngest qualifier in 2009 and the world's top-ranked amateur four years later.
She claimed victory in her second professional start at the Australian Ladies Masters in 2015 to earn a two-year exemption on the Ladies European Tour.
With the world seemingly at her feet, South Korea-born Oh promptly disappeared off the radar until breaking a seven-year win drought at the inaugural Australian WPGA Championship in Brisbane in 2022.
The victory was a beacon in an otherwise gloomy few years which saw her lose her LPGA Tour card.
She has since struggled on the developmental Epson Tour, missing nine out of 12 cuts in 2024 and earning $7,400 for the season.
"Good thing I like playing golf. I think I wouldn't keep playing if I didn't like it," Oh quipped after savouring a nine-birdie round in glorious morning conditions.
"It was pretty tough, but I think I'm back on the right track with a better team around me."
Oh has been working with Ritchie Smith, who coached three of Australia's four golfers at the Paris Olympics, including major winners Hannah Green and Minjee Lee, and Lee's brother Min Woo Lee, who has won three European Tour events.
"I think it's been good to kind of rebuild and I've known Ritchie for a long time, so I think that level of comfort has been there," said Oh.
"I've worked really hard the last few months with Ritchie and I felt like I was hitting the ball much better, so I knew it was there, but I'm very happy and proud I just did it.
"I had to dig deep and believe in what I've been practising and I'm really happy it paid off today."
(Reporting by Ian Ransom in Melbourne; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
