It might be early in the tournament but Jarryd Felton is
proud to be leading his State Open for the first time.

Teeing off at the Western Australian Golf Club, Felton utilised all of his local knowledge to fire 6-under 64 in windy conditions this morning at the Nexus Risk TSA Group WA Open.

"I got off to a really good start. The wind started to pick up halfway around but I managed to keep it together which was really nice," said Felton.

"I have played here a lot over the years and it does get very windy, which is normal. I am more used to it than perhaps some of the other guys out there."

Aside from playing a nice round of golf, Felton enjoyed his day on course playing alongside defending champion Daniel Fox and good mate Curtis Luck.

"Curtis and I kept each other going, trading birdie for birdie. It’s good to be playing in a group where you are all really under par," added Felton, who said it’s important to keep the ball on the fairways at Yokine.

"I had a bogey on the 7^th which shows the premium on hitting fairways here. I missed the fairway and I was pretty dead so I did well to make bogey there and then played pretty solid into the clubhouse."

Felton has long been touted as one of the rising stars of West Australian golf and while he recorded his first win at the 2015 NSW PGA Championship he is happy to be playing well at home.

"You feel a little bit of pressure playing at home, but I am putting just as much pressure on myself. You want to go out and do the best that you can and hopefully it’s good enough," added Felton.

"I had a lull after the New Zealand Open and Queensland PGA so I saw my coach Ritchie Smith."

"I felt like my game came along really nicely, it’s not a surprise but it’s just good to be able to shoot that score."  

"It’s definitely early in round one but it was nice to get a good run out there and I am looking forward to tomorrow."

After the morning field, Felton holds a two shot lead over Michael Foster and David Wilson.