Careful preparation was key to Deyen Lawson’s success today
at The Brisbane Golf Club during the first round of the Isuzu Queensland Open.

Having visited The Brisbane Golf Club last week with his
Gold Coast-based girlfriend and fellow PGA Professional Alexandra Orchard, Lawson
discovered the nuances of the layout and used that to his advantage today.

"I came up here on Friday with my girlfriend Ali, it was
good to get up here and have a look at the course," Lawson said.

"I played nine holes on Monday and then the pro-am Tuesday.
I got to know the course and it’s definitely all about positioning here."

"Par isn’t a bad score on a lot of holes, you have to play
position golf and roll a few putts in."

"I don’t think the scoring will be really low this week but you
can give yourself chances."

Firing 5-under 65, Lawson leads by one shot from Steven
Jones and Ben Clementson.

"The course is quite tough, it was quite blowy out there
this afternoon and obviously the 9^th and 10^th are back to
par-4’s which makes it tougher," said Lawson, whose round was highlighted by an
eagle at the par-5 16^th.

"On 16, my 7^th hole, I hit 3 wood from about 262m
out, to three feet on the par-5 and made eagle after three-putting the hole
before from about 15 feet. That really turned my round, around."

"I made birdie on the next and just held on from there."

Playing on the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia after
completing his PGA Traineeship at Curlewis Golf Club in Victoria, Lawson
believes he has the ability to mix it with the best on Tour.

And he’s not wrong. So far this year he has been one of the
standout players, recording four top-10 finishes and sitting 10^th on
the Order of Merit, having him on the cusp of something special.

 "I have enough self-belief,
I really believe that I can contend in all the events and I just want to keep
doing what I am doing," added Lawson, who was motivated by his coach and PGA
Professional Darrell Brown.

"I started really started knuckling down and practicing
about a year and a half into my Traineeship. My coach Darrell Brown had a word
to me and said I was wasting myself a way. He knew my potential.

"I started playing solid in the last year of my Traineeship
and knew that my scoring was good enough to compete.

"It’s been good so far this year and hopefully I can keep
going the way I am."

Before he can start dreaming of holding the Isuzu Queensland
Open trophy, Lawson needs to keep firing over the next three days with plenty
of talented players just behind him on the leaderboard.

"Obviously you want to win, winning solves everything but you
can’t win a tournament on day one," added Lawson.

"I just need to put myself in a good position and keep
moving forward over the next three days."

With little expectations for his week, Jones’ relaxed
approach to the round proved beneficial.

"I didn’t expect much today, I haven’t really been hitting
it well lately. My practice has been good the past month but it hasn’t really
shown any results. So it was good to get some fruits from the labour today,"
said Jones.

"I was lying in bed last night thinking about my goal for
the week. I decided to just go out there and play, have a good time, have fun
and just enjoy the test.

"I have been thinking too much about how to play golf rather
than trusting and backing myself. It sounds pretty simple but I just thought I
would go out there, play and see what happens.

"I felt like that really freed me up to not be as anxious
over certain shoots. I went out there, backed myself and it worked out."

Playing in the morning field and teeing off the 1^st,
Clementson was 3-over after four holes and worrying about how tough the day would
be.

"I played OK out there, I didn’t get off to the best start
but I just tried to keep the ball in play."

"At a course like this you can’t afford to make too many
mistakes. There are plenty of birdie opportunities out there but you have to
make sure you hit it in play."

Clementson started to find those birdies thanks to a lengthy
birdie putt on the par-4 5^th which ignited his round.

"The first four holes I hit it in play but I struggled on
the greens," added Clementson.

"I was thinking at that point that I am 3-over through 4
holes, but then on the 5^th, I had a decent putt for birdie and I
rolled it in and that really started things up for me."

Rounding out the top-5 on the leaderboard are Gavin Fairfax,
Alex Edge and leading amateur Brett Coletta, who all fired rounds of 3-under
67.

The second round of the Isuzu Queensland Open will tee off
at 6.30am with Lawson on course at 6.40am.