James Nitties bounced back from three straight missed cuts to start his 2017 campaign, with an excellent 5-under par 66 at the par-71 Millbrook Resort today.

The Australian was delighted with his round that included six birdies and one bogey on the 17^th as a result of his only poor shot of the day.

He hit birdies at the 4^th, 6^th, 7^th, 10^th, 12^th and 15^th holes with the bogey on the 17^th when his second into the reachable par-5 went right, bounced on the rocks and could not be found.

“Always unfortunately one bad shot leaves a sour taste in your mouth when you finish like that. But good signs overall. One bad swing for the day but the rest was really good,” Nitties said.

“It was just perfect scoring conditions out there. The greens are amazing. Everything is amazing so I expect some low scores today.”

While he was disappointed with his bogey he was pleased with his overall efforts.

“I had the perfect yardage and perfect shot for my second into 17. Everything was perfect and I expected to be inside 20ft. But I made a mental error, lost it right and it got a hideous kick and we couldn’t find it. I went back and played the shot again to about 35ft.

“It was disappointing but definitely would not change the way I made the decisions.”

Nitties believes the re-tweaked layout with the par-5 17^th and par-3 18^th will provide a spectacular finish.

“The two closing holes are awesome. I love them. It is perfect because everyone can see the finishing holes. You have a par-5 and a par-3, both with trouble. I made bogey after a great drive and the 18^th is a diabolical green with water. I think it is a perfect finish.”

He just hopes he is at the pointy end of the tournament on Sunday to enjoy the closing challenge.