Based at Victoria Park Golf Complex, Eccleston set a good foundation at even par after six holes but proceeded to put a sublime run together on the back-nine.

The Queenslander fired 5-under across the next four holes including an eagle on the par-5 10^th which was shortly followed by another birdie on the par-5 14^th.

Eccleston mastered Ballarat Golf Club’s four par-5s in 4-under, something he acknowledged was part of his game plan coming in.

“I love coming here, the course really suits my game. Some of the holes can be quite long, but you can take driver and really get reward particularly on the par fives,” Eccleston said.

“I probably took the driver a few more times then I should, but I’m not going to change anything tomorrow. I’ll just keep to my game plan and hopefully take advantage of these brilliant conditions.”

Trainees were treated to a superb Ballarat day for round one and they made the most of perfect scoring conditions early.

New Zealand Trainee Blair Riordan laid the gauntlet down early to his Australian counterparts, taking the lead in the morning with a round of 5-under 67 featuring an eagle on the par-5 7^th hole on the Ballarat Golf Club layout.

Riordan says his relaxed attitude was a key to his performance.

“My strategy was to treat this week as a holiday, take the pressure off and just enjoy myself. It’s working well for me so far so hopefully it can continue,” Riordan said.

The morning field started in cool conditions, but as the mercury rose so did the performance of  Frazer Droop (VIC) and Sasha Murton-Cooper (VIC), both carding impressive opening rounds of 4-under 68 to sit tied in third place.

A high-quality field of Trainees produced a bevy of impressive scores, with nearly a third of the field shooting even par or better and with more idyllic conditions forecasted the scoring is sure to impress once again.

Follow all the scores live through pga.org.au. Round two commences at 7:30am.