Veteran Brett Rumford and former reality TV star Charlie Robbins set the mark early at Kalgoorlie Golf Course with rounds of 5-under 67 but they were ultimately superseded by Croker, who birdied his final hole for a round of 6-under 66.

New South Welshman Aaron Townsend had three birdies in his final four holes to join Rumford and Robbins at 5-under, 16 players finishing day one within three strokes of the lead.

A member of the Australian team that will contest the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship at Royal Melbourne Golf Club in less than two weeks, Croker has taken up Affiliate Future Tour Membership of the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia.

As he gets closer to joining the professional ranks, Future Tour membership opens the door to obtaining a card for next season before having to forgo his amateur status.

With top-10 finishes at both the NT PGA Championship and last week’s WA Open, the 21-year-old is learning quickly what it takes to succeed on the pro tour.

“I’m usually a more aggressive player off the tee but Joondalup last week showed that you don’t have to be that aggressive to still be able to score,” said Croker, who is coached by Chris Gibson at Royal Queensland Golf Club.

“We have put some work into my putting and he said that I just have to wait for it to start working.

“It was a bit slow the first two rounds last week and then come out the third round and had a pretty solid day on the greens.

“That showed that you don’t have to stump it next to the pin to make birdie every single time.”

After taking home the Terry Gale Cup as leading amateur last week at Joondalup Resort, Croker began his first round from the 10th tee at Kalgoorlie and collected three birdies in his opening four holes.

His only bogey of the day came at the difficult par-3 17th but the 21-year-old responded with another hot stretch from the second, picking up three birdies in four holes before taking sole possession of the lead with a final birdie at the par-4 ninth.

A six-time winner on the DP World Tour, Rumford is now a qualified PGA Professional who coaches out of the Wembley Golf Complex in Perth while Robbins is trying to transition from ‘Ninja Warrior’ to professional golfer.

Victorious at Kalgoorlie in 2015 and runner-up in 2020, Rumford’s lone bogey for the day came at his eighth hole, the par-3 17th.

With a wealth of knowledge at his disposal, Rumford said the key to his good start was very simple.

“I just played really well,” was Rumford’s summation.

“I gave myself a lot of good opportunities today, shot 5 (under) but you always want more, of course.

“You’ve got to be appreciative that it’s a tough day and I understand that 5-under is a very good score in these tricky conditions.”

Like Rumford, Robbins had a single bogey in his round, the dropped shot coming at the par-4 16th.

He responded with a birdie at the par-5 18th to earn a share of second in just his third event on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia since turning professional.

Winner of ‘Ninja Warrior’ on Channel Nine in 2019, Robbins made the cut at last week’s WA Open and hopes a strong week in Kalgoorlie will help people to see him in a different light.

“I’ve obviously got a lot of people who know me as the ‘ninja’,” Robbins said post-round.

“Even when I’m working in the pro shop at Moonah Links, people will come in and be like, ‘It’s the ninja boy!’

“It would be nice for them to instead be saying, ‘That’s the guy that’s really good at golf.’”

Now 42 years of age, Townsend has reignited his passion for tournament golf after almost three years away.

Tied for 18th last week, Townsend spent winter playing the secondary tour in Japan and is excited about the way his game is trending.

“It feels like it’s getting closer, to be honest,” said Townsend, the 2015 Victorian PGA champion.

“I was really happy with how I played today, I hit a heap of good shots and this golf course probably suits me a little better than last week.

“I like how I’m swinging it and really happy with how it looks like it’s going.”

New South Welshman Nathan Barbieri was the pick of the four players who returned after playing the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at St Andrews last week.

Barbieri, who left Scotland a day earlier than Haydn Barron, Lincoln Tighe and Justin Warren, shot 68 in Round 1 to be one of six players in a tie for fifth, two strokes off the lead.

Warren had three birdies in his final four holes to shoot 69, Barron posted even-par 72 while Tighe, whose clubs only arrived in Kalgoorlie on Thursday morning, shot 76.

Photo: Monica Marchesani/PGA of Australia