Nathan Barbieri (10-under 61)

On managing his round after three birdies to start

“It’s the perfect start so you just reset and keep going and keep taking your chances.

“I definitely got ahead of myself last week. Just counting the birdies I’d had and wondering what I was through the amount of holes.

“Every time I thought of that today I had to erase everything and tell myself to start again.

“It was near to perfect golf. Obviously starting well last week gave me a bit of confidence coming in. It was a good day.”

On par saves that kept his momentum going

“I hit it into the hazard on the right at 11 and got up and down. It was a dry hazard so that was definitely a momentum boost to keep going in the round and then I birdied the next two.

“Seventeen I hit it down the right and had to punch it through the trees to the greenside bunker and got up and down. So there were a couple of good up and downs that definitely kept the momentum going.”

On his eagle at the par-5 ninth

“It was straight into the wind playing about 500 metres and I hit driver, 2-iron into the right pot and one-bounce chipped it in.

“That gave me a little hint. It changed from what could have been a par into an eagle. Then, again, it’s a matter of resetting for the back nine and going out and doing the same thing.”

On his previous lowest round

“I’ve shot 8-under about three or four times but this has definitely taken the cake.”

On turning professional in December

“I turned pro for the North Coast Open and played that but the first official event was last week (Gippsland Super 6).

“I’ve been playing a lot of amateur golf for the past three or four years now and I just thought that I’d achieved everything I’d wanted to achieve. I just needed that extra boost and Golf NSW gave me a few starts to get me going so I thought, Why not.”

Geoff Ogilvy (7-under 64)

On the difficulty posed by windy conditions

“It’s incredibly windy. It was windy overnight and windy in the morning. Really, really windy, but they were smart in that they didn’t cut the greens and they didn’t roll the greens. We would have had issues if we’d had the greens a bit faster. But they played fine, it was all fair and it was there if you hit good shots.”

On his 64 and Barbieri’s 61

“I didn’t think there was a mid-60s score there but after we got out there I thought if you holed a few putts you could go low.

“I didn’t see that out there. I didn’t see what I shot out there so 61… That’s a great score. I putted really well and made a lot of putts so he must have done the same.”

On the opportunity for young players to showcase their talents

“It’s exciting on a whole lot of different levels but that’s the point. We want to give an opportunity for the experienced boys to play another golf tournament but also for the younger guys who perhaps aren’t sneaking into any of the bigger ones to mix it and get to see how good they are. Clearly he’s got the level already but what an opportunity to gain experience that hasn’t been there before.

“It ticks a lot of boxes. That’s the exciting thing about the format. It’s amazing that we haven’t done stuff like this before because it’s such a good idea and it’s been well received universally by all. It’s clearly a concept that’s got a lot of merit going forward.

On trying to win an event bearing his name

“Every time I play I want to play well. I don’t necessarily miss touring and all that but I miss being in contention and having a chance. The goal is always to get the feelings going again and get in the mix on Saturday and Sunday.

“I hadn’t played much, no expectations. Last week was kind of OK and shot a good score today.

“I don’t feel any responsibility to play well but it’s nice that I am.

“Absolutely. Absolutely. I can’t think of anything better (than winning).

“You want to play well and I’m here to win but I’m not going to beat myself up if I don’t play well.

“It’s just good to be here and to mix it with the youngsters. All of the best golfers who are in Australia right now are here all mixing it up, it’s good.”

On playing alongside LPGA Tour player Su Oh

“Obviously I was an interested observer as to where she was hitting it relative to me and Elvis (Smylie) and it seemed about right. It was a brutal day. She just had a few lip-outs which happens and she played a few shots better than the score showed. As far as I can tell to this point I think the balance is pretty good.”

On the Rosebud Country Club layout

“This is a brilliant course. Most of the people here probably haven’t been here before and they’re all blown away about how good it is. Everyone loves it.”

Kirsten Rudgeley (a) (3-under 68)

On the afternoon conditions

“It was super windy. I looked on my weather app and it said it was going to calm down but I think it got a bit worse as it went on. I just managed myself, it’s only the first round. Just got to post a half-decent score.”

On experience in professional events to date

“I played in the WA Open three times and Bonville so this is probably my fourth or fifth event. It’s cool that we’re mixed with the boys, it’s not two separate scores. I’m enjoying it so far, everyone’s looking after me.”

On receiving an invite to play this week

“I got an invite through Golf Australia maybe four weeks ago. I’m not sure whether it was because of the Vic Amateur or not but either way it’s handy.

On expectations entering the event

“My game’s definitely got better since Bonville. Mum and Dad said the same thing, I’m just here for the experience really. Whatever happens happens, that’s the way to think. Any tournaments I get to play in is one step forward, that’s the way I look at it. Especially an event like this. It’s the first one ever being played so pretty happy with having the chance to be able to play.”

On what she wants to achieve before leaving amateur ranks

“I’m not sure. Doing really well in these sorts of events will give me the encouragement to be able to think that I can actually make it. I don’t really know to be honest and I don’t want to put too much pressure on myself. I just want to play golf at the moment. I’m not even going to think about it until a couple more years.

On being a member at Mt Lawley, Hannah Green’s home club

“They’ve been awesome, they’re always helping out. They’re a good golf club. When she’s back we get to spend some time with Hannah. I do enjoy being there because there are good people around you like Hannah and also ‘Rummy’ (Brett Rumford) and ‘Strangey’ (Scott Strange) as well so there’s good people to practice with.

On the course set-up for the girls

“We wouldn’t have a chance if we went against the boys off their tees so it’s an awesome idea what they’ve done. We were hitting the same sorts of clubs in so it’s fair for everyone. It’s good that we’re in the same tournament but off different tees to give us a chance.”

Karis Davidson (2-under 69)

On making eagle on her final hole

“I had a couple of little unlucky things happen a few holes before so it was nice to get rewarded on that last hole.

“It was into the wind and I pumped driver right down the middle and had about 180 metres into the green, which would have been playing around 200 with the wind.

“I hit a 3-wood and it was just hunting the pin. It was a perfect shot and got up there and it was on the green.

“It was quite a tricky putt. It was downhill and I absolutely nailed it.”

On her misfortune at fifth and sixth holes

“On the fifth I did hit an off drive shot to the right and the second shot I didn’t get quite out onto the fairway and it was right up against a tree root. I had to try and punch a wedge shot and it went over the green. It was a soft double but a bit unlucky with the tree root. Then the next hole I had a pitch shot into the green and it was that perfect that it hit the centre of the flag and ricocheted off the green. That was a bit unlucky but I just tried to keep calm because it was tough conditions today and anything can happen.”

On playing alongside Marcus Fraser and Matthew Griffin

“It’s really great to play with the guys. I played with Marcus Fraser and Matthew Griffin and it was really interesting watching their shots and how they play in the wind. I definitely learnt a lot from playing with the men. The way that men and women do play golf is slightly different so it taught me a lot.”

On any pressure to represent the female players on the leaderboard

“Definitely not because at the end of the day I’m just grateful to be playing an event. I don’t think it’s worth putting a lot of pressure on yourself, especially as this is my first four-round tournament in a year. I can’t expect too much. I just wanted to come out and enjoy playing with the blokes and learn a bit. That was my thing for the week. I’m really pleased but it’s only round one so I’ve just got to keep my feet on the ground and focus on tomorrow.”