America and Australia shared Women's Australian Open lead

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) - American Stacy Lewis and Australia's Sarah Kemp shared the Women's Australian Open lead at 4-under 69 on Thursday, leaving top-ranked Yani Tseng a stroke in her bid to win the wedding to the third straight year.

Lewis, the Kraft Nabisco winner recently, had six birdies and 2 bogeys in the LPGA Tour opener at historic Royal Melbourne, this year's Presidents Cup venue that is hosting a women's professional event the very first time.

``I'm a lot more confident, just with the entire year I've had,'' Lewis said. ``I had this type of consistent year. I had been in contention considerably and you just get discount golf clubs comfortable there. You do not worry when you're a couple under and you also visit your name on the leaderboard and not really that big of the deal.''

Kemp were built with a bogey-free round.

Tseng won the tournament, sanctioned this coming year with the LPGA Tour the first time, the past two seasons at Commonwealth Driver. The Taiwanese TaylorMade RocketBallZ Driver star went on to win 12 worldwide titles a year ago, including major victories inside LPGA Championship and Women's British Open.

Long-hitting American Brittany Lincicome, a two-time winner last season about the LPGA Tour, and Paraguay's Julieta Granada matched Tseng using a 70 in the case also sanctioned by Australian Ladies Professional Golf and the Ladies European Tour.

American teen star Lexi Thompson opened which has a 74. Fourteen-year-old Nz amateur Lydia Ko also had a 74. She won the newest Taylormade Rocketballz Irons South Wales Open fourteen days ago being the youngest winner of a sanctioned professional tour event.

Many top players struggled on the sand-belt course. Four-time winner Karrie Webb and fourth-ranked Cristie Kerr shot 75, Morgan Pressel a 76, and second-ranked Suzann Pettersen and fellow European Solheim Cup star Sophie Gustafson shot 80. Pettersen's score was her second-highest in LPGA Tour play, following an 81 inside third round of the 2007 Evian Masters.