Hillier, who finished runner-up at last week’s Vic Open, took the morning by storm with a remarkable seven-under par round of 64 to match the course record set by Hannah Green and Andrew Evans yesterday.

Porter and Millar picked up where they left off on Thursday as they both made it back-to-back rounds of 66 heading into the weekend.

West Australian Hillier is relishing being back in Australia for the first time since the pandemic began and her happiness is translating to good form on the course.

“Today was good. I birdied all the par-5s which was a good advantage more than anything,” the Ladies European Tour regular said.

“I just played steady and I had a lot of fun with my fiancé Ben (who has been caddying for Stephanie Kyriacou in recent weeks) on the bag. We just had a great day and the putts just fell.”

She is also experiencing some deja vu this week as the stunning performances of her friend and former state teammate Hannah Green are bringing out the best in her.

“She set the bar yesterday so she inspired me a little bit for sure. It was good that I could do the same really,” Hillier, who is gunning to become the first woman to win a The Players Series event, said.

“We’ve got plenty of golf left to go but we’ve definitely got some girls up on that leaderboard which is great to see.”

Queenslander Porter is another player with an eye towards a Sunday afternoon triumph.

The rookie professional is trying to stay in the moment – thanks to some encouragement from her mum who is caddying for her this week – however she can’t help but look at the bigger picture.

“Honestly TPS is one of the greatest concepts in golf. I love that we get to play with the men in the same field with the same prize purse,” Porter said.

“I think it really puts us on the same level. I think it showcases women’s golf too. We work as hard and we try as hard and I think that Australia is getting to see that that’s actually true.”

The local crowd were lucky enough to see Porter pull out her tricks at the par-5 sixth with a chip-in eagle.

After crunching her drive, her second shot went a bit left and looked as if she had let an opportunity slip.

“I wasn’t really happy with it. The spectators can probably tell you how I reacted to that one,” Porter said with a laugh.

“It was on the good grass there which was lucky I think and then just popped it in the hole which was nice. It was a good surprise. 

“I actually didn’t think I’d see it and then it disappeared so I was like ‘ok good’. There was a bit of a celebration. I looked at mum and gave a bit of a fist bump.”

Millar went bogey free as he continued his good form in the region from his Murray Open triumph late last year.

He is also not surprised to be joined by Hillier and Porter at the top as he said that he expects a few of the best women to be right at the top.

The Canberran is a prolific winner on the Adidas PGA Pro-am Series circuit and those performances are set to hold him in good stead across the weekend.

Zach Murray is one shot back from the leading trio after shooting an incredible six-under round of 65, while Douglas Klein and Austin Bautista finished at eight-under par as they both carded rounds of 69.

Leaderboard