Play
is underway at the 2016 Car Net Auctions NSW/ACT Trainee Championship on the
challenging Bob Harrison designed "Bungool" course at the picturesque Riverside
Oaks Golf Resort in Cattai,North West Sydney.

Western
Australia’s Brody Martin is the inform player coming off a recent win at the
CPM Southern Trainee Championship and is keen to defend the NSW/ACT Trainee
Championship title in honour of his good mate Braden Becker.  

Fellow
West Aussie Becker claimed the top spot at Riverside Oaks last year but having recently
graduated from his PGA Traineeship he is unable to defend his title.

 "I have a very similar game to Braden which
gives me great confidence coming into this week," said Martin.

"The
course is in superb condition and I will be playing it with an aggressive
approach using driver wherever possible."

"I
would love to take that trophy back to WA two years in a row."

Keen
to stop Martin from winning his third four round championship in 2016 are NSW
Trainees Trent Smith from Ryde Parramatta GC and Andrew Thompson from Monash CC.

Smith
currently leads the NSW/ACT Trainee Order of Merit (OOM) having already recorded
two wins on the Trainee calendar this year.

"The
course is set up quite long and I am looking to utilise my length off the tee
to take advantage of that," said Smith.

"I
am looking forward to playing this week and have been really happy with the
development of my game lately."

Andrew
Thompson has three wins to his name in 2016 and is currently second on the
NSW/ACT OOM.

"I
have been working hard on my game with my coach Glenn Phillips and we have been
seeing some great results," said Thompson.

"I
really enjoy playing on fast greens and the Bungool greens are certainly that."

"The
course is in immaculate condition which is a credit to the team at Riverside
Oaks and I am really looking forward to getting out there."

Play
got underway at 7am but with heavy fog and rain predicted scoring may prove
difficult.