Sarah Nicholson leads NSW Open

New Zealand golfer Sarah Nicholson is the daughter of a television psychic, but she won't be asking her mother for any tips as she attempts to build on a first-round lead at the NSW Women's Open.

Nicholson fired a six-under par 66 at Oatlands Golf Club on Friday to take a one-shot lead over defending champion Sarah Oh and Japan's Hiromi Kamata in the 54-hole event.

Sue Nicholson is a psychic medium who appears on New Zealand detective TV series, Sensing Murder, helping to solve unsolved murder mysteries.

But Sarah wants fate to be in her own hands in Sydney.

"I don't want to know! I like to think I have control over what I do, especially on the golf course," Nicholson said.

"My mum basically goes in and investigates all of these murders and tries to find who dunnit, where they were and how they were killed - in real life.

"I remember playing the Australian strokeplay once and I was going into the last round and I was six shots behind the lead.

I spoke to mum on the phone after having an absolutely terrible round, and she's like, "you'll win tomorrow."

"I said 'I'm six shots behind, do you have any idea idea what that means?'

"She doesn't know what a birdie is or whatever, and yet sure enough, I was six behind and I won by a shot.

"I do (believe). It's pretty hard not to believe when you know what she does."

Nicholson could have killed the first round at Oatlands, if not for consecutive bogeys on the 14th and 15th holes.

However, she still went into the clubhouse relieved and satisfied at beating the field as well as the rain which halted play for an hour in the afternoon.

Oh is just one stroke behind Nicholson, tied with Kamata, and is confident she's in a position to defend her crown.

She carded four birdies and a spectacular eagle on the sixth to complete a convincing round.

"I've just got to stick with my plan the next two days and I should be right," Oh said.

"I didn't feel nervous today at all, it just felt like playing another tournament."

Reigning Ladies Masters champion Katherine Hull is four-under, tied with fellow Australians Stacey Keating and Rachel Bailey plus another Kiwi Cathryn Bristow.

Former world No.1 Laura Davies had a mixed round, but finished well to end the day three-under.

Starting off the 10th, Davies got off to a flyer before a terrible middle stretch, bogeying the 18th, first and second holes.

But the rain delay came at a good time, with the crowd favourite re-focusing to finish strongly.

"I must admit I was on a bad roll at that time, so it was probably a welcome change," Davies said.

"When you've just dropped three shots on the trot it feels like the end of the world and you feel like you've blown the tournament.

"But ... I just got back out there and didn't drop another shot, made the three birdies which was nice."

Davies is tied with Aussie Wendy Doolan, who has overcome breast cancer in the past 12 months, and 13-year old Korean Su-Hyun Oh on 69.

- AAP