Just my ball striking, I think. I hit a lot of good shots and the bad shots I hit were in good places. It seems at the moment my bad shots aren’t that bad, they are either left side of the fairway, or right side of the fairway, left side of the green or right side of the green.

I think at the moment, even though I don’t think I’m hitting the ball fantastic, my bad shots are actually pretty useable.

Obviously this morning was pretty calm and we definitely have the advantage on our side of the draw. It was pretty tricky yesterday afternoon, but if you could scrape around in even par or a couple under par you were doing pretty well and you could make the most of this morning and that was what happened to me.

I feel like i putted quite poorly. There was a lot of really good opportunities today that I missed. I would have given myself a dozen really good looks at birdie, so to shoot six under, obviously I’m happy with that but I left two or three out there. There’s not too many rounds of golf you come off saying you got every single shot.

If I can continue hitting the ball the way I am, I wouldn’t say I’m hitting it spectacularly, getting away with the bad shots, not missing a lot of fairways, not missing a lot of greens, and start to see the ball roll in there’s no reason why I can’t be close come Sunday.

I’ve been working really hard with my physio, trying to keep on top of things. I’m in my 40s now so trying to keep on top of that is probably the key at the moment. The skills are there, you don’t have to practise the skills so much, it’s more about making sure that I’m physically capable of competing with the younger guys. I’m doing a lot of work with the physio and I’m feeling pretty good – wake up a little tighter than I did maybe 10 years ago but it’s a matter of doing the extra miles in warm ups and away from the course.

It’s probably a bit early at this stage and there’s plenty of guys that are playing pretty well out there. If the weather calms down, which it looks like it might do over the weekend it does become a bit of a putting contest. If my putter gets hot, maybe I’ll be a chance, but I’ll worry about that closer to the 16th hole on Sunday.

Q. Wade, 7-under par after two rounds, I know you’re disappointed finishing with a bogey but it was a pretty serious fight back after being 3-over early.

Yeah it was a bit of a messy start out there. I just couldn’t find my rhythm. I warmed up fine but some days that’s golf you know, it just goes away from you. I was fighting hard and I knew I was playing well so I got some momentum through the turn there and could have made a lot more actually. Overall I’m pretty happy with that.

Q. You won last month in Hong Kong, does that give you a confidence boost coming in here?

We obviously play a lot of tournaments so since then I’ve had three events where I haven’t played that well so it’s nice to be back in a bit of form. Obviously having won so recently when you go into a situation where you’re in the hunt to win it’s not as hard to go into it so I’ll try and draw on that stuff but yeah, it does help.

Q. Lucas Herbert, 11, birdies two bogeys through two rounds, sitting at minus nine, you spoke of your confidence coming in here and it appears that all facets of your game are on song.

Yeah, I mean, I struggled last week in Mexico. The greens, I just really couldn’t figure them out. With the altitude it was quite tough to figure out how the ball was flying but we’re sort of back down at an altitude where it’s got a bit more control over it and on some greens that I’ve putted on before and feel a lot more confident picking the lines on. It’s kind of easy to get the confidence back with all of the parts of the game back to where they feel like they should be.

Q. You started playing golf pretty much when you could walk. You’re 24 now, is this the first time you’ve worn your dad’s clothes whilst playing a tournament?

It’s been a long time since I’ve worn them. It’s an interesting one. I think my suitcase is just flying in at the moment. It will be good to get back into some familiar clothes tomorrow. I had to wear some wet weather pants today because I think my pants are about that far too short so it’s been an interesting one.

Q. The name Lucas Herbert at the top of the leaderboard boasts an intimidating presence. How can you use that to your benefit on the weekend?

I’m not the only guy. Ben Eccles has won a Professional event as well so I don’t know that it’s going to be that much of an intimidation factor but, I mean hopefully I can just go out there and play some good golf and sort of let that speak for itself rather than kind of just using my name because I think they’re all great players out here. Especially the guys up near the lead, they’ve all won tournaments before so I don’t think the intimidation factor is going to be big enough with little old me there.

Q. How were the conditions out at The Hills today?

Compared to yesterday, it was so much different. There was pretty much no wind out there. The course is in great shape like you’d expect around here. I just couldn’t ask for better scoring conditions so it’s almost kind of frustrating to only shoot 4-under. It could have been any sort of score out there.

Q. After being in Mexico last week do you have any jet lag?

I’m actually pretty good. I flew the Monday night, Tuesday, Wednesday cross over. I got a sleep on the plane and I got like 11 hours sleep and woke up at 6am Queenstown time so it was perfectly matched up so by the time I got here I was straight on the time zone. It’s kind of good when you travel west it’s a bit easier versus when you travel east it feels like it takes two weeks to catch up.

Q. When in Queenstown what do you do when you’re away from the course?

There’s plenty to do here. Fergburger’s definitely the first one on the list. Then whether it’s going to the top of the mountain or going down the luge or the mini golf down the bottom there is always really good too. I always get a few friends to come over for this week because it’s just such an enjoyable week. Even just to sit on the balcony to look over the mountains, it’s pretty impressive this place.

Q. Back to Millbrook tomorrow, are you excited to get back to that course given the score you shot there yesterday?

For sure, I haven’t made a bogey there yet so I’d like to keep it that way. Millbrook is a good test of golf out there. It’s a good mix of some easy holes where it gives you some chances and then some tough tee shots too. It’d be good to see how the weekend goes out there.

Q. Wade, it’s great to have you here. We know you finished runner-up at the NZ Open a few years ago in Auckland, but I don’t think you’ll be disappointed you made the effort this year.

It’s been a fantastic few days here already. You kind of forget how beautiful it is down here in Queenstown. Mike’s (Hendry) been putting pressure on me for a while to come down here and it was nice to make it happen. I had a great day out there today so I’m pretty happy with the positive start.

Q. Tell us about the round. It was very difficult early.

Exactly, I felt like we could have gotten the wrong side of the draw there pretty quickly so it was just a matter of hanging on early. I made some great up and downs on two and three and it was just a matter of hanging on. I started making some birdies back down wind there on seven, eight, nine or something like that. So that got a bit of momentum going and then I played nice around the back. The game feels pretty good, I putted nicely so I’m happy.

Q. You’ve been playing well as of late, of course the win in Hong Kong, you finished well at the Australian PGA Championship, so your form is in pretty good shape overall isn’t it?

Exactly, I had a nice run at the end of last year. I didn’t finish off that many tournaments but obviously, Hong Kong I had a win there, Aussie PGA, that one stung quite a bit but I feel like I’ve got a bit to prove to myself and I’m working pretty hard at the moment even though the last few weeks haven’t been great. I had two weeks off, I’ve rebooted, worked hard last week and it’s nice to come back here and punch out a number in round one.

Q. Ben, a day ago you were a reserve for the NZ Open and now you’re in a share of the lead. How does it feel?

It’s pretty awesome. I said to my best mate who’s caddying for me that I just want to enjoy the week whether I get in or not and we got in yesterday morning so it’s a big bonus and to play like I did today was just awesome.

Q. You were also in Asia last week, you did pretty well up there in Q-School, are you feeling any jet lag?

A little bit. With the amount of travel I’ve done over the last few years you kind of just try your best to recover as best you can and get as much sleep and eat quite well. The jet lag is still there but teeing off late today helped that.

Q. Do you feel like you’re on a bit of a run of form at the moment?

Definitely, my game has turned a corner in the last three or four months. I’ve been working pretty hard on some stuff so I’m excited for what’s coming.

Q. How have you gone here in the past?

I’ve played it three times before and I think I made the cut twice. I just love the place, it’s just amazing. The golf course is playing a bit harder this year with the rough up. It’s nice to get around like that.

Q. Did you have any practice rounds before today?

Just played nine holes yesterday. I just wanted to rest up from all the travel that we did. I’ve played the courses before so I wasn’t too worried about going out. I don’t think they’ve too much just the rough’s up.

Q. You’ll face The Hills tomorrow. How do you approach that?

Same sort of mindset. Just try and go out and enjoy it. We’re off in the morning so hopefully we’ll get the better of the weather again. I think it’s the harder of the two courses so it’s going to be a bit of a test but I’m looking forward to it.

Q. How did you find the conditions today?

The wind was really challenging. The wind was all over the place. It was a bit wet out there as well so I was just trying to manage that and I managed to play well.

Q: So conditions were pretty tough out there?

A: I don’t think I have had a day like that for a long, long time. We started with a strong nor-easterly and when we were standing on the 15^th tee it switched to a very strong noir-westerly. When we were putting on the 4^th one of the signboards blew over on 11. All of a sudden it dropped on 7 and blew about three different directions coming home. Plus a couple of spits of rain, it was a strange day.

Q: You must have been thrilled with your start.

A: To be honest I played pretty well all day. I made three bogeys in a row on the front nine but felt like I didn’t do much wrong. I could have quite easily got to six or seven under through the 2^nd with a couple of better bunker shots on 1 and 2. At 3 I hit it one foot into the hazard and ended up dead and on 4 I bulleted one through the wind and three-putted. It was one of those days.

I hit a couple of bad shots near the end as I was fading which was understandable. The rest was pretty good and a solid start in those conditions.

Q: What is the plan for tomorrow?

A: I won’t be doing much this afternoon, just sitting on the couch watching TV and trying not to take a nap. Hopefully in 24 hrs I will feel a bit better. I am not sure what the weather forecast will bring for tomorrow. I don’t care if it is windy but I would like it to blow from the same direction the whole time would be nice.

Q: Thoughts on playing Millbrook, now you can plan for three rounds there now

A: It is the better way to do it. It can be tricky swapping courses in the middle of the tournament. I played Millbrook (in practice) hoping I would get three rounds around there so it was the first time I had seen The Hills was today so I am looking forward to getting out to play Millbrook. There are a lot of chances out there. The golf course is in good nick. I think it is playing a little easier than here (at The Hills). The greens are a little faster here and this place is more narrow in places. It looks like there has been a couple of good scores at Millbrook this morning so hoping I can have one tomorrow.

Q. Zach Murray, an opening round of 3-under par at Millbrook, very tough conditions 6-under par through 10, are you still happy with the score?

I’m a little bit disappointed but I got to the toughest hole on the course when the wind picked up. I doubled three but I battled through. I played really nice today and I feel good after the jet lag coming back from Mexico so overall I’m pretty happy.

Q. You mentioned that jet lag coming back from Mexico, in the past month you’ve been all over the world. What are some of the challenges both physically and mentally whilst you’re out there?

I just think everything just becomes a little bit harder. You get a little more frustrated and a little tired even though I don’t feel it I just sense that I was just getting a little bit frustrated there because once you get to 6 and you drop back to 3 it’s like, yeah. But then you look at the leaderboard and I’m not far away so you’ve just got to try and manage yourself as best you can. Hydration, I felt a little bit sick last week so I’m probably trying to catch up a little bit as well. Overall it’s just trying to stay as patient as possible.

Q. First time defending a title as a professional, was it a special feeling?

Oh it is. I couldn’t wipe the smile – well I wasn’t really smiling after the double but apart from that I’ve been smiling all day and yesterday so I’m super excited to be back and it’s just an amazing place here. Apart from the rain at the moment the weather has been fantastic so hopefully this just brushes through and the rest of the week is nice and fine and we can get a few spectators out there.

Q. You take on The Hills tomorrow. What kind of approach will you take heading over there?

It just depends on the weather. The weather controls it a lot out here. I haven’t played in weather like this in Queenstown before so it was a little different today. The ball gets knocked around a fair bit. Compared to Mexico last week the wind doesn’t knock it at all so you’ve just got to sort of take it as it comes. I haven’t been back to The Hills since last year. I didn’t get a practice round out there so I’ve just got to try and stay in it all week and hopefully the energy levels are up by the end of it.

Q. What were your thoughts standing on the tee this morning as reigning champion? Were there nerves?

I was pretty cruisey. I actually had to look in my yardage book and remember where to hit it. I got off to a really nice start which was good and it’s probably good I did because it was quite tough out there towards the end.

Q. Did your game plan change at all when the weather came in?

Not really. It changes a few holes, it changes the way a few holes play but I think the main thing for me tomorrow is to just try and stay as patient as possible because I can just sense that but of frustration from being tired but overall I’m pretty happy with the day.

Q. What do you do tonight to prepare for tomorrow?

Try and stay awake. I fell asleep last night at eight o’clock so just try and stay a bit up later tonight and I’ve got heaps of friends and family here so I’ll just hang out with them and at the moment I feel pretty good so hopefully it stays that way.

Q. Brad, welcome back to New Zealand. Great to have you here. A pretty good start on a pretty interesting day of weather.

Yeah that was tough. It had everything. I thought it was going to hail there at one stage even. The breeze I think changed about five or six different directions and actually caught me a couple of times so to get in the clubhouse with as many birdies as I had, it was a good fun round of golf.

Q. Particularly over there (The Hills), it’s a bit more open?

I think both courses are pretty exposed. I wouldn’t be surprised if both courses had the same sort of conditions. There are a few higher points that you’ve got to worry about. It was a totally different breeze to what we’re used to. Fourteen was down breeze, 15 was into the breeze so it was a totally different golf course. Luckily I didn’t even have a practice round this week so I just went from what I knew and it was a whole new experience.

Q. Were you finding yourself having to make some adjustments in terms of club selection because of the slightly different conditions?

Definitely. Sometimes there was maybe four or five clubs difference between a couple of rounds last year and this year which was fun. I even got a chance to get home on two on 17 so that was fun.

Q. You always seem to be in the mix here, does it feel like that to you?

I just love coming to New Zealand. You guys look after us so well when we come here and I think just on the back of a couple of tournaments before we get here as well helps. Coming back knowing that you’ve won twice in New Zealand is always a special thing and unfortunately being close here. If I can get myself in position here I’ll see what I can do.

Q. Is it nice to get The Hills out of the way first in this format as opposed to starting at Millbrook, going to The Hills then coming back to Millbrook and now you’ve got three straight rounds on the one course?

Yeah I think so. I think it is. It just allows me now to concentrate on one course. I’ll walk out there today and just see what a couple of guys are doing shot wise and see how the greens are rolling seeing as I haven’t had a practice round yet. I’ll try and get a little bit of knowledge before I start tomorrow and again, we might even get a totally different wind condition tomorrow so we’ll see.

Q. You’ve been on a hot run of form coming into this event. Does that confidence coming here?

It does, it’s just I’m still trying to work out how to – I pride myself on consistency, especially when I’m through the season. I think I’ve missed two cuts in three or four years so I’m quite a consistent player and I’ve wasted a lot of shots over the last three weeks too. So trying to get rid of those, even today, I hit it in two fairway traps which cost me two bogeys and I thought I was ok and the breeze got me both times. If I can eliminate the bogeys I’m actually playing well enough in the rest of it and putting well enough to keep performing so I’ve just got to try and be a little bit smarter and try not to make those soft bogeys.

Q. Ryan Fox didn’t think he could remember a day with the wind being so variable. Have you played in similar kind of winds to this or is it new to you?

This is definitely new. The only areas where you’d sometimes get it is in Melbourne where you might have an easterly and it turns into a northerly. No, this was a pretty amazing breeze. There were times there where I chose a club and then I actually went down two clubs within 30 seconds because the breeze had totally changed. You’re really on edge and having to trust the breeze at that stage because otherwise it made you look pretty silly.

Q. Tell us about 17, you must have really hit it well there.

Yeah I did, I hit a great drive on 17 and hit a 3-iron to about three feet. Two awesome shots and managed to make a putt. Luckily it was dead straight so it was nice to get one of those for eagle.

Q. Why no practice round, did you arrive late?

I had a nightmare flight, you wouldn’t believe. I was supposed to come to the champions dinner on Monday and ended up jumping on a flight out of Brisbane that got cancelled then they put me on another flight through Auckland and I missed my connection so I got here at half past 9 and left my house at four o’clock this morning so it was a 12 hour flight to Queenstown. The last couple of days, and even after three really busy weeks in Australia, I just know how to play these golf courses. It’s all wind dependent so I was just happy to take it easy. I did a putting clinic for the Wakatipu Juniors and some PGA Pros on Tuesday afternoon so that was great and just did a little bit of chipping and putting yesterday. I tied to sort of take it as easy as I could and being underprepared sometimes for me is a good thing.