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England's Meghan MacLaren leads the Australian Women's Classic by one shot after the first round.

Meghan MacLaren has good reason to wish more co-sanctioned Ladies European Tour events were played on the mid north coast of NSW.

A day after winning the pro-am, the Englishwoman grabbed a one-shot lead in the Australian Women's Classic by shooting a bogey-free five-under 67 at Bonville.

She led from Australia's fast-finishing Stephanie Bunque, Spain's Carmen Alonso and Amandeep Drall of India, who all carded 68s.

MacLaren's good start came four years after she won the first of her two NSW Women's Open titles at nearby Coffs Harbour GC.

"I need to move here (and) I need to get the Tour to set up shop here. I love it here," MacLaren told the WPGA website.

Bunque provided a spectacular finish to her round with two eagles in the last five holes, including a holed sand wedge shot at the 18th.