Ryan Lynch has launched into the lead in round one of the Coca-Cola QLD PGA Championship presented by Toowoomba Regional Council, recording an incredible eight birdies and an eagle in rain-marred conditions.

Beginning his round on the back-9, Lynch fired an eagle on the par-5 10^th to get his Championship off to a strong start.

“On the first hole of the day I hit a really nice drive and an 8-iron to 12 foot, then a big breaking putt and ended up finding the bottom,” said an ecstatic Lynch, who finished on 8-under the card.

Early into the afternoon round heavy rain and lightning brought the field into the clubhouse for a short break before returning to the course 50 minutes later, but the delay did little to dampen Lynch’s spirits.

“I was glad there was a little bit of lightning because I didn’t have an umbrella or any wet weathers out there when we got called in,” added Lynch.

“It was very handy to have that little break and I played nicely today.

“It also meant that our next tee shot wasn’t straight into the rain and wind so that was nice.”

The front-9 was where it all came together for the Victorian, rocketing to the lead with birdies on holes 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6 to pass morning leaders Harrison Endycott and Ben Ferguson.

“I lost count,” said Lynch of the number of birdies he recorded on the City Golf Club layout.

“But the putter was rolling nicely and I was hitting a lot of nice shots, so I’m just happy to be sitting here at the moment, right in the tournament and we’ll see how the rest of the week goes.”

Looking ahead to round two, Lynch says a good night’s sleep will help as he plots his course for tomorrow.

“I’ll get to bed early tonight,” he said. “I’ll wake up when my alarm wakes me up and come out and do my best again.”

“You just have to keep giving yourself looks at birdie around this course because there are a lot of birdies out here but there are a lot of bogeys as well if you make a mistake.”

Earlier in the day rising stars Harrison Endycott and Ben Ferguson set the benchmark for the field, firing 7-under 63 in the morning.

Starting his round from the 10^th tee with three straight birdies, Endycott rode the birdie train adding a further six to his tally alongside two bogeys to complete his round.

“Three birdies in a row, I haven’t done that for a while so it was nice to do that,” said Endycott.

“They were really nice looks and it felt very positive to make those going into the round so it’s always nice to start with some good momentum.”

West Australian Ben Ferguson joined Endycott at the top of the leaderboard after an almost blemish free opening round at the QLD PGA Championship.

Also starting his round with a birdie, Ferguson went on to record three in a row on the front-9 from holes 5-7 with just one bogey, coming on the final hole.

“I got off to a good start and had a few birdies, I made a bit of a rally and continued it but unfortunately got a little bit unlucky on the last,” said Ferguson.

“All together it was a good round and I’m happy to start off like that.

“I hit the ball solid all day and wedged it tight so it was a stress-free 7-under par.”

New South Welshman Nathan Green also equalled the 7-under par score in the afternoon field in his first tournament for 2019.

Round two of the Coca-Cola Queensland PGA Championship presented by Toowoomba Regional Council tees off at 6:30am on Friday 22 February at City Golf Club.