Local Queenslander Taylor Macdonald and Victorian Tom Power Horan are tied for the lead after round one of the Coca-Cola Queensland PGA Championship.

Macdonald, a former low amateur at City Golf Club, fired a
flawless round of 8-under 64. Opening with a birdie on the par-5 10^th
Macdonald fired eight birdies, six of them on the back-9, and launched himself
up the leaderboard.

"It was a good day to play golf. I’m in pretty good form at the moment with my driver so that came out of the bag a lot and where I’m hitting it is perfect position to score. If I’m pitching well, like it did today, I can capitalise on a few birdies out there," said MacDonald.

"A few years ago I played this event as an amateur and won the award for lowest amateur and I like the place, I think it suits me."

"There are another three rounds to go and if I keep playing the way I am I’ll be happy."

Power Horan matched Macdonald’s opening birdie until an
unfortunate bogey on the par-3 4th caused a slight set back. Bouncing back with
two eagles on the back-9, including one on the 17^th, Power Horan saw
himself join Macdonald at the top on the leaderboard after flying home.

"It was a good day, I played pretty well and I managed to have a good score," said Power Horan. 

"I got off to an ok start, I birdied the first but then I bogeyed the fourth and then played pretty well with two eagles on the back nine which was nice. It’s nice when you play well, I found it really good."

"It’s good being at the top rather than the bottom for sure, but a long way to go, obviously three more rounds. This sort of course you can play well and make the most of it, but if you hit a few poor tee shots it can really go the other way."

Both in their rookie seasons on the PGA Tour of Australasia
they hold a one shot advantage over morning leader, Kris Mueck, and Adam
Stephens signing for 7-under 63.

Rounding out the top-10 on 5-under the card are Lindsay Wilson,
Aaron Townsend, Mitchell A. Brown and Tom Bond, while Darren Beck, Peter Cooke,
David Klein, Jake Higginbottom and Lucas Herbert are a further shot back on 4-under
the card.

Round two of the Coca-Cola QLD PGA Championship will get
underway tomorrow at 6:45am