Kelly’s bogey-free round of five-under 67 was enough to edge Brock Gillard and Lachlan Aylen by a single shot with Matthew Buff (69) and Wade Lowrie (70) rounding out the top five.

Well down the leaderboard the day prior at Keysborough, Kelly began his afternoon round expecting little but armed with the knowledge of how to best make a score at a course with fast-running greens and some tricky pin positions.

“I played pretty terrible at Keysborough so my expectations were pretty low,” Kelly admitted.

“I’ve played this event for many years and I know that to score well you have to be a little bit conservative on some holes.

“Not to have a bogey always helps but I did leave another few birdies out there.

“The course just played so great. It’s always a fun event and to be able to play a course like this and with the support of the members throughout the day makes it a great experience.”

Starting his round from the sixth tee, Kelly picked up his first birdie at the ninth hole but it was a run of three birdies in four holes from the par-4 12th that provided the backbone of his round.

The conservative approach kept any dropped shots from blotting his card, the fifth and decisive birdie coming at the par-5 fourth.