Queenslander Aaron Pike currently leads the first round of the BMW New Zealand Open after the completion of the morning field.

Teeing off early this morning in perfect scoring conditions Queenslander Pike took a while to warm up with his first birdie of the day coming at the par-3 7^th hole.

He went on to reel off a further six birdie with the only blemish on his scorecard coming at the par-4 12^th hole.

"I made five or six pars in a row and started peeling off a few birdies – it was really good," said Pike. 

"It was a bit cold this morning, so maybe it took a bit to get the body going."

"I’m a Queenslander and not used to this but it was awesome."

Surprised at the scores, Pike thinks that the players in the afternoon field might go even lower.

"It’s a challenging golf course but when the conditions are like this and the field is so strong you expect someone to shoot a ridiculous score," added Pike.

"I’m expecting someone this afternoon to shoot a really good one."

Pike enjoyed his day at The Hills where he teamed up with a friend from his home club, Indooroopilly. They also lead the team component of the BMZ New Zealand Open.  

"I’ve got a really good friend over here who was coming to play the event and we arranged to play together," added Pike.

"We play together very regularly at our home club in Indooroopilly."

"He played really, really good today so hopefully he can keep that going."

Looking ahead to tomorrow, Pike is looking forward to taking on Millbrook where Greg Turner has redesigned the course we are playing this week.

"I really like the course. Greg Turner I think redesigned a few holes on the one we’re playing,"added Pike.

"He also designed the Coronet nine – they’re both awesome."

"I played it well last year so I’m really excited to get out there and have a go." 

"Hopefully it’s just not 5 degrees like it was this morning."