Aussie pair Lion Higo and Jazy Roberts are prominent on the leaderboard after the opening round of the Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific championship at Hoiana Shores Golf Club in Vietnam.

Twenty-two-year-old Higo fired a 6-under 65 in the morning groups on Thursday, while Victoria’s Roberts all but matched her with a 66 in the afternoon, both players well within reach of leader Seo Jin Park of Korea at 7-under heading into Round 2.

Sydneysider Ella Scaysbrook is the next best-placed Australian at 1-under, with the Australian team’s highest ranked player, Sarah Hammett, a further two-shots back at 1-over.

Another Queenslander in Hannah Reeves is just behind Hammett at 2-over, while senior amateur stalwart Nadene Gole struggled on her second-nine on day one, opening with a 4-over 75.

With no blemishes on her Round 1 card, Higo, who plays her golf at Pepperdine University in California, says avoiding trouble was at the top of her priorities.

"That’s always a goal of mine, to be able to limit the bogeys," said the Queenslander.

"It was great to be able to do that out here. There is definitely some holes where you can get in trouble, but avoided that today, so that was nice.

"It was definitely a challenge out there, but I enjoyed it with my caddie. I got some lucky breaks with two really long putts going in on the par 3s and then some lucky bounces with my drive, so that definitely helped."

At 22, Higo is remarkably one of the older players in the field — even with 55-year-old Nadene Gole on her team — but is soaking it all up in her first outing at the prestigious amateur event.

"I’m getting old," she joked. "It’s definitely nice to see the young ones out here playing well.

"I’m excited for the rest of the week. I’m not sure what the weather will be like (on Friday), so I’ll just take it one shot at a time and stick to my process."

For the full leaderboard from Round 1, CLICK HERE.