Western Australia’s Jarryd Felton has credited his ball-striking for an opening round of 7-under 65 at the TX Civil & Logistics WA PGA Championship.

Teeing off early in the morning field alongside Josh Younger and Matias Sanchez, Felton was pleased with the result but felt there was room for improvement.

An eagle on his final hole was the highlight of the round for the Perth local whose affinity with the Kalgoorlie Golf Course layout has paid dividends.

“I can’t be disappointed with a 65 but I left a lot of shots out there as well,” Felton said.

“My ball striking was really good today. I missed two greens and paid the price as you do around here, but I had a lot of looks inside 10-feet and didn’t capitalise on as many as I wanted. But we got there in the end.

“I love it out here. I seem to play well here. I love this golf course and it definitely rewards good ball striking which is one of my strengths.”

Felton sits alongside elite company at the top of the leaderboard where he is just one shot ahead of fellow West Australian and 2015 WA PGA Championship winner Brett Rumford.

“It feels pretty good,” Felton said of the results. “We wore the same outfit today as well so there’s something in that I think.”

The road to recovery has been a long one for Rumford since undergoing wrist surgery last November. He said the injury hasn’t deterred him during the opening round.

Rumford, who’s made a remarkable recovery since undergoing wrist surgery last November, sits in second place after firing an impressive round of 6-under 66 this morning, with the afternoon field still to complete their round.

“It was there for the taking really. There was no wind. It got up maybe just a little bit on the back-nine but it was still playable,” Rumford said.

“The greens were receptive and at a moderate pace so if you wedged it well and drove it half decent I think there was a score to be had and I just took advantage of that.”

Steady golf on the Graham Marsh-designed course saw Rumford lead for most of the first round of the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia tournament.

“The round was just steady. The fairways are reasonably generous when there’s not that much wind. But that’s Graham March design, it’s fantastic,” he said.

“If you’re hitting it reasonably close, within 15-feet on the right level, Graham Marsh’s design has always rewarded that. I just putted really well today.”

Rumford was joined on the tee by David Micheluzzi who today made his professional debut, as well as and one of the tour’s most consistent players, Matt Millar.

Millar unfortunately withdrew from the tournament mid-round due to a back injury.

“I think it’s always devastating to have a key player pull out of a golf tournament so that was disappointing,” Rumford said.

“I know what it was like and to be there with him with his opening tee shot, I can remember mine as if it happened yesterday and it was 20, 25 years ago now, my first tee shot in New Zealand and I know what a bit deal it is. I know that he would have been feeling it on the first tee this morning.”

Micheluzzi completed his opening round tied for third place at 5-under the card alongside WA amateur Haydn Barron and Victorian James Marchesani. For live scores from the TX Civil & Logistics WA PGA Championship please visit pga.org.au.