Teenaged star

Highly touted South Korean teenager Joohyung Kim lived up to his billing on the opening day of the New Zealand Open in Arrowtown.

The 17-year-old is the early clubhouse leader, having overcome blustery conditions to card a superb seven-under par 64 at Millbrook yesterday.

Kim, who has won on the Asian Tour and is already ranked

141st in the world, holed an eagle to go with his six birdies and had just one blemish – a bogey on the

370m par-four 12th – on the day. Australian Brad Kennedy, the

2011 NZ Open champion, was breathing down Kim’s neck after his opening round six-under 66 at The Hills, while Kiwi Ryan Fox is five shots off the pace at twounder.

‘‘The wind was swirling all day and it was tough. But I managed myself really well and gave myself lots of good chances and made some good putts, too,’’ Kim said.

‘‘For tomorrow, I just have to play without any expectations and play the way I did today. A lot will depend on the wind, too.’’

In addition to the blustery and variable winds, heavy rain also occasionally pelted players and spectators during a wild afternoon.

Fresh off a string of top-10 finishes, Kennedy mixed seven birdies with an eagle and three bogeys during a colourful opening round.

His eagle on the 503m par 17

Ryan Fox

was setup by a monster drive, followed by a sweet 3-iron, which left him an 8-foot putt to bury.

‘‘That was tough, I thought it was going to hail there at one stage. The breeze changed about five or six different directions and actually caught me a couple of times, so to get in the clubhouse with as many birdies as I had, it was a good, fun round of golf,’’ the Queenslander said.