With the sun shining and the course presented in exceptional condition players found it hard to believe that the Virginia Golf Club layout has received 2.3 metres of rainfall to date this year.

Winner of the 2018 Tony Hollands Funerals Queensland PGA Trainee Championship and National Trainee of the Year in 2018 and 2019, Eccleston has struggled to assert himself on the main tour since becoming a full-time professional.

He finished tied for fourth at the NT PGA in May and held off a strong field to taste victory for the first time at Virginia.

Playing in the morning field, Eccleston went bogey-free to set the mark early, prolific winners Deyen Lawson, Brett Rankin and Tim Hart all coming up one stroke short with rounds of six-under 65 in the afternoon wave.

“It was a great day out with stress-free birdies on the par 5s,” said Eccleston, who birdied all three of the par 5s.

“I didn’t miss too many shots but when I did, I managed to get it on the green or in a good area for par.

“Luck also comes into play as I chipped in for birdie on the eighth,” he added. “If it didn’t hit the pin I was probably chipping again.”

Young guns Matt McLean and James Macklin finished their day with scores of five-under 67 to be tied for fifth, just two shots back of Eccleston.

The next event on the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series is the Carlton & United Breweries Ocean Shores Pro-Am on Wednesday.

Click here for final scores and prize money.