MULTIPLE champion Judy Kruger opened up a commanding four-stroke lead after the opening round of the Victorian Veterans Women's Championships, at Ballarat Golf Club yesterday.Kruger, from Yarrawonga, carded a score of 80 off the stick to lead Kooringal's Heather Harley and Tocumwal's Susan Pappas (both 84) in equal second.Midlands' Gai Skinner (85) is the region's leading contender, five shots off the pace, with Buninyong's Vera Lund (89) and Ballarat's Maxine Berry (90) in pursuit.Age group championships are also up for grabs during part of the four-day carnival.Trentham golfer Mary Campbell and Skinner head the 55- to 59-year-old division after opening nett scores of 75, while Anglesea's Dinah Kosky established a big lead in the 60- to 64-year-old category, finishing with a nett 66 to hold sway by seven shots.Papas, who carded nett 69, is two strokes clear in the 65- to 69-year-old competition, while Brenda Balderstone, from Anglesea, shot an opening-round nett 74 to lead Ballarat's Lesley Brady by six shots in the 70-plus event.The Victorian Veterans Women's Championships, which doubles as a ranking tournament, is regarded as the state's most prestigious female over-55 event.Action continues with round two from 9am today, before finals, which will be conducted as matchplay contests, tomorrow and Thursday.ROUND 1 LEADERBOARDJudy Kruger (Yarrawonga) 80Heather Harley (Kooringal) 84Susan Pappas (Tocumwal) 84Margot Parton (Anglesea) 85Gai Skinner (Midlands) 85Valda Connelly (Anglesea) 88Beryl Drake (Warrnambool) 89Vera Lund (Buninyong) 89Maxine Berry (Ballarat) 90Kristine Doerner (Kooringal) 90Dinah Kosky (Anglesea) 91Denise Murphy (Kyneton) 92Jeanette Barclay (Port Arlington) 93Mary Campbell (Trentham) 93Pauline Murphy (Ballarat) 93Flo Feltham (Buninyong) 94Helen Brown (Latrobe) 96Barbara Hinton (Anglesea) 96Angela Widdison (Ballarat) 96