A two-time winner of the Victorian/Tasmanian PGA State Associate Championship, Crothers was the only player to finish Round 1 under par, a birdie at the par-4 ninth for a round of 70 putting him one clear of fellow Victorians Jack Harrison (71) and Ben Paine (71).

The morning field faced strong winds on the New South Wales South Coast, wind abating slightly as the afternoon wore on.

Starting his championship from the 10th tee, the wind made scoring difficult for Crothers on his opening nine but he found form on Moruya’s front nine, coming home in three-under to edge one stroke clear.

Moruya is known for its enormous double green shared by both the ninth and 18th holes and it proved fortuitous for Crothers on his final hole.

“I hit a big cut off the tee and ended up on the 18th (fairway),” Crothers conceded.

“It actually gave me a really good angle into the ninth green where the pin was tucked left. It was a pretty straightforward shot.

“I started hitting it a lot better on the back nine. I was a bit wayward on the front nine but started holing some more putts.

“Hit a lot more greens and it was nice to birdie the last hole.”

After an opening par, Crothers bogeyed his next two holes to be on the back foot early.

A birdie at 16 was countered by a bogey at 17 before he rediscovered his mojo on the back nine.

“I started off very slow – I was two-over after three holes – and got it back on my back nine, which was the front nine,” said the second-year Associate at Yarrawonga Mulwala Golf Resort.

“I’m definitely glad I had a practice round. It’s very tricky off the tee, lot of doglegs and hitting to corners.

“I thought the course played well. The greens and everything played really well.”

James Hundy had a bit of everything in his round of four-over 75, including a hole-in-one at the par-3 12th.

Playing 142 metres, Hundy hit 8-iron and saw the ball disappear into the cup to claw back to within five of the lead.

A cut will be made at the completion of Tuesday’s second round with the top 50 to advance to the final two rounds of the championship.

Click here for Round 1 scores and the draw for Round 2.