Laura Davies struggled but still drew the crowds while Nick O'Hern basked in relative anonymity and the tag of frontrunner after the first round of the ANZ Championship.

O'Hern, with two eagles and four birdies, shot an eight under 64 to be on 18 points under the tournament's modified stableford format, with Englishman John Bickerton (64) second on 16 points and US Amateur champion Nick Flanagan (67) alongside England's Steve Webster in third on 14 points.

Peter O'Malley shot a 67 for 12 points and a share of sixth place, New Zealand's Michael Campbell was in ninth after a 70 while Craig Parry slumped to minus one after a disappointing 74 in the co-sanctioned Australasian-European event at Horizons Golf Club .

But Davies was easily the main drawcard as she battled her nerves to compile a minus one round of 75, featuring five bogeys and two late birdies in front of by far the biggest crowd of the day.

The Englishwoman, who has won 56 women's tournaments worldwide including four majors, admitted the pressure got to her after spending the night tossing and turning.

"I was just thinking about that first tee shot really. But what does it really matter? The worst you can do is hit a bad shot, it's stupid," said Davies, who became the first woman to play in a men's event on either the Australasian or European tours.

Now the 40-year-old's next goal is making the cut, having to move up from 124th spot into the top 76 after the second round..

"If I can cut the rubbish out, make four or five birdies and then you never know what's going to happen," said Davies, who finished ahead of the likes of Craig Spence, Brendan Jones, and Jarrod Mosley in the 156 player field.

On her drives Davies went neck-and-neck all day for distance with playing partner Peter Senior while the third member of the group, France's Jean Van de Velde, regularly smashed his ball 35 metres further.

"She played pretty well and it's just a shame she got a really bad start with a few easy bogeys," Senior said.

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