Evans and veteran Terry Price both posted rounds of five-under 66 on the scenic Shelly Beach layout to finish one stroke clear of Jayden Cripps, Daniel Priest and Dimitrios Papadatos sharing fourth at three-under 68.

Currently 84th on the Japan Tour moneylist, Evans took the opportunity of a gap in the schedule to return home to Sydney and squeeze in back-to-back pro-ams on the Central Coast.

After finishing tied for 12th at Toukley on Thursday, Evans found some winning form at Shelly Beach ahead of his return to Japan this weekend.

“I wasn’t in for ZOZO (Championship) and Japan Open I missed the qualifying,” explained Evans, the 2021 Queensland Open champion.

“I had two weeks off so it was a lot easier to just come home and hang out. Then I saw these two events and just snuck in the entry deadline so I thought, Why not.

“It’s good when the schedule is next to each other so I was keen to come up and see where my game was at before I leave this weekend.”

Despite the rain that has lashed the east coast, Shelly Beach was in superb condition, particular the greens which Evans praised as some of the best seen on the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series circuit.

“It was awesome out there. I love playing at Shelly Beach,” said Evans.

“The course is always in great nick and the greens are some of the fastest that we get to play on the pro-am circuit.

“I had a lot of fun.

“There was a bit of rain and a bit of wind but I thought it was great.

“I only missed one green so that was key. That was my only bogey.

“A lot of good shots, plenty of birdie chances and I holed a few. The greens were really good, easy to read them and I had a lot of fun.”

The next event on the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series is the 35 Latitude Waratah Pro-Am at Waratah Golf Club on Wednesday, October 26.

Click here for final scores and prize money.