Conditions were perfect for scoring this morning at
Riverside Oaks as the NSW PGA Championship got under way.

Marcus Cain made the most of the morning, playing smart and
conservative golf to post a bogey free 7-under 64.

"I played reasonably well. I hit it on the fairway all day
and hit probably six to six feet and made all of them," said Cain.

"I just chipped it around and watched the boys go at the
greens on the par-4’s while I was laying it up, it’s that sort of a golf course
where you need to chip it around."

"The greens are reasonably undulating on the last four holes
so you need to keep it out of trouble."

Getting the tournament off to a strong was key for Cain,
with high temperatures predicted for tomorrow, he knows scoring will be more of
a challenge.

"It’s not particularly easy out there, it’s hot and the
humidity is up, I’ll be losing weight this week which is fantastic," added
Cain.

"If we get some breeze and it blows we will all be in some
trouble because it will play really tough."

"That’s the easiest we will get it all week, 3 and 4-under
will be a great score on the weekend."

While it may have been, by his own description, an ordinary
round for Cain it does place him on top of the leaderboard which features many
of the rising stars of Aussie golf.

"There are a lot of kids out on Tour and they are all hitting
it 50m past me, I never thought I would say that I am old but I’m getting
there," added Cain.

"I’m just trying to keep it on the fairway and then it’s a
bit of luck when you get it near the pins."     

Sitting just two shots behind him is Geoff Drakeford, who
renowned as a long hitter has maximised his length of the tee to shoot 5-under
the card, as did Brett Rankin.

Rounding out the top-5 on the leaderboard following the
morning field was Aaron Wilkin, Daniel Nisbet, Peter Lonard, Daniel Valente,
Charles Wright and Matt Millar.

It’s a good start for Wilkin and Wright who need a top-12
and top-17 finish respectively this week, to avoid heading to first stage
Qualifying School next week.

���;�Tm