Tucked pins and windier conditions made cluBarham Golf and Sports Club a more challenging proposition on day two yet thanks to his spectacular finish Hart was able to match his score of 64 on Saturday for a two-round total of 18-under, four clear of Victorian Cameron John (70) with Elvis Smylie (69) a shot further back in third.

Hart’s second straight round of nine-under was the best of the day by four strokes and was due in large part to some good fortune on the par-5 14th.

Having begun his second round from the 18th tee, Hart pulled his tee shot left at the 445-metre 14th and when he finally reached it had just 110 metres left to the green.

“I actually didn’t hit a great drive,” Hart conceded of the eagle that would thrust him clear at the top of the leaderboard.

“I knew there was a lot of golf course to the left and it was out of bounds to the right so tugged it a bit down the left. It must have hit an air strip or something because it got all the way down there to about 110 out.

“I flicked a sand wedge over and then holed a 20-footer for eagle.”

Starting the day trailing John by two strokes, Hart didn’t challenge for top spot until he reeled off four straight birdies from the sixth hole, the lack of phone service enabling him to avoid any distractions an updated leaderboard may have presented.

“Because we didn’t have service we couldn’t update the scores,” Hart explained.

“That was good first tournament back because it kept me in my own game and I didn’t really think about the scores too much.

“I knew had some easy-ish holes to play coming in – a few par 5s that were playing down breeze – so if I got a few drives away I knew I could make a few birdies or an eagle and I was lucky enough to do that.”

Hart dominated the Queensland leg of the adidas Pro-Am Series earlier in the year but until the Blitz Golf Howlong event on Friday – where he finished tied for fifth – he not only hadn’t played since July, he’d barely touched a golf club.

There was a seven-week period where he didn’t touch a club at all, instead using the time to work on his own personal growth and development and, quite simply, “enjoy my life”.

The result is that he is in the right frame of mind to rack up numerous pro-am wins and determined to feature in the bigger events on the PGA Tour of Australasia schedule throughout the summer.

“It’s great to be back on the road. This is where I feel most comfortable,” said Hart, who was tied for seventh at the Golf Challenge NSW Open in March.

“Coming back from the places that I have been mentally and knowing that I can compete in four-round events of a high calibre with a good field, that’s massive for me.

“It’s a good feeling and one that I want to have a lot more of.

“There are a lot of opportunities coming up to contend over the next few months and hopefully win one if I’m playing well enough.”

Matthew Millar (69), NSW Open champion Bryden Macpherson (69) and Brady Watt (69) rounded out the top-five with Simon Hawkes (70), Ben Wharton (68) and James Gordon (70) finishing in a share of seventh at 10-under par.

The adidas Pro-Am Series now moves along the Murray River to Cohuna for the Stuart Appleby Cohuna Golf Club Pro-Am on Monday.