Four birdies in her final five holes have elevated West Australian Minjee Lee inside the top-10 after day one of the women’s Olympic golf competition at Le Golf National.

After Hannah Green signed for an opening round of 5-over 77, it took until the 14th hole of Lee’s round for the Aussie pair to register their first birdie on a challenging course buffeted by strong morning winds.

But after Lee conjured what she described as a “hard-fought birdie” at the par-5 14th, they came with a flurry.

She holed a 24-foot putt for birdie on 15, hit a brilliant tee shot into just six feet at the par-3 16th and then closed out her round of 1-under 71 with a two-putt birdie from 56 feet at the par-5 18th.

Frenchwoman Celine Boutier thrilled the boisterous home crowd with a stunning 7-under 65 to lead by three but, on a day in which only 12 players broke par, Lee ignited her medal dream by finishing in a tie for seventh.

“I didn’t really hit it close enough to really make that many birdies on the front nine,” Lee said.

“I was pretty much scrambling for most of the day, trying to make up-and-downs, and made some, missed some.

“Then gave myself a bit of a nudge and thought I had to make a few birdies coming in.

“I just didn’t want to be over par, so four birdies in the last five, I’m happy with the finish.”

The two-time major winner’s putting proved problematic for much of the front nine, a missed birdie chance from five feet on three followed by missed putts for par from close range at both six and 12.

When a putt from seven feet for birdie failed to drop on 13, Lee was 3-over and facing Le Golf National’s daunting finish.

But it brought out the best in the world No.13, who will fully assess her gold medal prospects once Round 2 is completed on Thursday.

“At the moment I don’t feel like it because it’s the first day,” said Lee, when asked if she felt in medal contention.

“Maybe it will feel a little different after tomorrow, to feel out where I am on the leaderboard and where I sit at the halfway point.”

Although tied for 46th after Round 1, Green has three rounds to claw her way back up the leaderboard.

One of the form players on the LPGA Tour this season with two wins, Green struggled off the tee on Wednesday.

She tangled with the gnarly rough on her way to a bogey on four, dropped another shot on seven and then found the water before making par at the par-5 ninth.

Green found the water twice more with approach shots into 15 and 18 which, combined with a frustrating day on the greens, made for a disappointing start in her second Olympic appearance.

“Just finding it tricky to read the greens,” admitted Green, who had 30 total putts in Round 1.

“But when you hit it three times in the water, you’re not going to make par.

“Pretty deflating probably last nine holes, I would say. Just going to have to go shake it off.

“Three more days. I guess it’s different in the sense that we don’t have a cut. It’s early days, and we’ll see how they are going to set up the golf course the next three days.”

Playing in her third consecutive Olympic Games, Lee hailed the French crowds for creating an atmosphere that better reflected the true Olympic experience.

Location of the golf course kept crowds down in Rio in 2016 while Covid put paid to any crowds attending at all for Tokyo 2020.

But with a legion of supporters cheering for Boutier in the group behind, the Aussie revelled in the energy that pulsed through the golf course.

“They were literally chanting her name on most of the holes,” Lee said.

“The energy is really amazing out there. And they have been really supportive of all the players.

“It really feels like what I imagined the Olympics to be.”

Two-time Women’s Australian Open champion, Ashleigh Buhai of South Africa, is outright second at 4-under par with Gaby Lopez (Mexico), Morgane Metraux (Switzerland), Women’s NSW Open winner Mariajo Uribe (Colombia) and Lilia Vu (USA) tied for third at 2-under.

Minjee begins her second round at 9:44am on Thursday (5:44pm AEST) with Hannah to tee off at 11:44am (7:44pm AEST).

Tony Webeck is on site at Le Golf National as media liaison for the Australian team.