Warragul Country Club again played host as blustery conditions and firmer playing surfaces provided players with a challenge that Walker (pictured, right) and Aylen (pictured, left) met best with rounds of four-under 67.

They finished one shot clear of fellow Victorians Bradley McGill, Andrew Kelly and Tim Elliott who each shot three-under 68, Elliott’s round highlighted by an eagle at the par-5 12th.

A PGA Associate at Peninsula Kingswood Country Club, Walker peeled off six birdies in his round of four-under 67 to set the benchmark in the morning groups and then had an anxious wait to see whether his score would hold up.

A two-time winner on the ISPS Handa PGA Tour of Australasia, Ash Hall (69) looked the man most likely when he made the turn in three-under while three-time European Tour winner Marcus Fraser (72) also made a strong start to be two-under early in his round.

Michael Choi (69) made an impression on the leaderboard with an eagle at the driveable par-4 sixth hole followed by a birdie at 11 but faded late with two costly bogeys.

A second year PGA Associate at Eynesbury, Aylen negotiated the difficult back nine in three-under 32 to have Walker’s total well within range but could only add the one birdie at the par-4 fourth to match Walker’s morning score of 67.

Winner of the National Associates Championship at Rich River in December that earned him a start at the Australian PGA Championship, Aylen admitted that nerves got the better of him at Royal Queensland.

“Last week (Australian PGA Championship) I was just really nervous with the bigger crowds, today it was nice to just focus on the golf,” Aylen added.

“I played the Gippsland Super 6 here in December and I was terrible. It was good to come back and play some nice golf for a change.

“I did spray it off the tee a bit today but I managed to find the other fairway and get up and down from there.”

Walker had one distinct advantage over the rest of the field, staying with the Warragul Country Club’s club captain which made his on-course arrival much simpler.

“I stayed at the club captain’s place last night who lives on the course so I got here pretty fresh this morning,” Walker revealed.

“We’re really busy at work at the moment so I’m not sure I’ll be playing much more this summer.

“I found the course today pretty tough. It had firmed up after from when we played the Gippsland Super 6 here a month ago.”

The next stop on the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series circuit is Maffra Golf Club for Tuesday’s Maffra Community Sports Club Pro-Am.