Ko, who became the tour’s youngest winner at last year’s Canadian Women’s Open, and Shin, South Korea’s world number eight, opened up a commanding six-shot lead with matching three-under-par rounds at Royal Canberra Golf Club.

Coincidentally, the two were also paired in the last round of the Canadian tournament in August, when Korean-born Ko smashed US star Lexi Thompson's record by winning at the age of just 15 years, four months and two days.

Lydia Ko