A record field of 66 Associates teed it up at Caboolture Golf Club vying for one of 24 spots in the match play section, the top eight qualifiers receiving a bye in Round 1 to be played Tuesday morning.

With a superb two-round total of 5-under 137, Rooke finished five strokes clear in qualifying to establish himself as the player to beat this week.

In the first year of the Membership Pathway Program at Keperra in Brisbane, Rooke has been a consistent performer in Associate matches to date without notching a win.

That all changed on Monday, however, as he sets his focus on one of the most prestigious titles on the Associates calendar.

“I have been playing well all year but today things just clicked for me.” said Rooke.

“I stayed patient and treated today like a marathon given the 36-hole format.

“Staying calm and in the moment all day was really important and very satisfying to finally get a win.”

Rooke will face the winner of the Round 1 match between Jordan Hampson and Ben Hollis at 11.39am this morning with Josh Holbrook, Jack Wright, Lachlan Wood, Riley Taylor, Chris Park, Dylan Knox and defending champion Dylan Gardner the others to advance directly to Round 2.

There are two rounds of match play each day until the winner is decided in the 36-hole final on Thursday.

Pampling Plate qualifying results

Live matchplay scores