New South Wales’ Annika Rathbone has surged to the top of the leaderboard after the opening round at the Ford Women’s NSW Open Regional Qualifying event at Wagga Wagga Country Club.

The 21-year-old, who captained her state team this year in amateur golf, produced a brilliant seven-under-par 66, including two eagles on the back nine on Thursday.

Rathbone, a member of The Australian Golf Club and recently qualified electrician working for Sydney trains, combined precision and confidence to take a one-shot lead over Steffanie Vogel and Claire Shin, with Kristalle Blum and Kathryn Norris, with six players another shot back on 4-under, including Kelsey Bennett and Caitlin Pearce.

“It was a slow start today, but I thought, ‘I’ll hit the back nine and put my foot down,’ and that’s what I did,” Rathbone said.

“The first eagle was actually on a par-5. I hit the green and then holed the putt. My second eagle was a hole-out from 118 meters. It was like one bounce, and it rolled into the hole – so that was pretty cool.”

“My irons, my ball striking, and my putting were pretty solid today, so my whole game was very good.”

“I’ve actually been playing really well, so I’m feeling very confident, and it was nice to bring that to the first round.”

Balancing golf and studies has been no small feat for Rathbone, who recently completed her TAFE exams to become full qualified in her unique job.

“It’s a relief off my shoulders, but I’ve been practising as much as I can and playing a fair bit too,” she said.

“I’m just going to stick to my game plan tomorrow, keep playing well, and see what happens.”

With a field of talented competitors on her heels, Rathbone is keeping her ambitions grounded but admits a victory would be sweet.

“It would be a dream come true, playing in my state open. You can’t beat it. I’m not going to get ahead of myself, though … just take it one shot at a time. A win would be the first big one on my resume.”

“I’ve never actually played here before. I got here on Tuesday, and I thought this course was very nice. All the members have been lovely, the Pro-Am yesterday was awesome, and the playing partners today were great. The hospitality has been amazing.”

Shin from St. Michael’s Golf Club and Cobram Barooga’s Vogel will head the challenge on a well-credentialled leaderboard, with action underway from 8am (AEDT) Friday and live streamed on the Women’s NSW Open website from 10am.