New Zealander Brad Shilton was a dominating force at Huntingdale Golf Club during the first round of the Mercedes-Benz Truck and Bus Victorian PGA Championship.

Playing in the afternoon field, Shilton fired a bogey free 8-under 64 to equal the course record set last year by David Bransdon.

On a day where everything was just going his way, Shilton reeled off four consecutive birdies starting at the par-3 12^th and highlighted by a chip in on the par-3 15^th.

A player that places a premium on accuracy, Shilton is happy to be playing Huntingdale, a layout that doesn’t necessarily advantage the long hitters on Tour.

The Kiwi will take a two shot lead into the second round of the tournament with former Huntingdale member Ashley Hall, David McKenzie and Taylor Macdonald tied second.

At 5-under the card are Anthony Houston and Michael Sim, while a group of seven players including defending champion Aaron Townsend round out the top-10 on 4-under 68.

Playing in the Victorian PGA Amateur Challenge, amateur Peter Clifford would be happy to be paired with the ultra consistent Matt Millar. The pair have combined to be 13-under the card after the first round to lead by two shots from Aaron Pike and the Herald Sun’s Mike Sheehan.

The second round of the Mercedes-Benz Truck and Bus Victorian PGA Championship tees off at 7.10am tomorrow with Shilton on course at 8.21am.

For all round 1 scores please visit pga.org.au.

For all round 2 tee times please visit pga.org.au.

For all round 1 scores from the Victorian PGA Amateur Challenge please visit pga.org.au.

Quick Quotes:

Brad Shilton, 8-under64 1^st

"Bogey free, it was nice I never looked like making a bogey so I am very happy."

"It was just solid golf, there is no such thing as a perfect round, but I didn’t hit any bad shots and any bad swings I got away with. I made a few nice putts, picked off (birdied) the par-5’s off."

"I only missed two greens I think, 15 and 17. I holed it on15 and chipped it to a few feet on 17." 

"Huntingdale suits me. It’s not a course that you have to hit it very long and I generally hit the ball pretty straight so it definitely suits me."

Ashley Hall, 6-under66, T2

"I like this place, I have memories of being a member here fora long time so I know how to play it, where to go and where not to go."

"I have a fairly set game plan on how I play in certain winds and I stuck to it all day long."

"It’s just nice knowing where the flags are going to be, we were joking that they are exactly where they were round one of the Masters. It’s very familiar and I like to think that I know a lot of the breaks on the greens."

David McKenzie,6-under 66, T2

 "I have played this golf course numerous times, longer than I would like to admit, so there are always good memories out here."

"It’s always trying to get the ball in the right spot and take as much trouble out of play as you can. There are a lot of bunkers that if you go in you’re going to make a bogey. It may give you a longer shot in but it’s better to do that than having to play from the trees or the bunkers."

"I had a nice stretch; I hit a good shot into the 5^th and birdied 5, 6, 8, 9 and then 11. So I had a nice stretch there and felt likeI could shoot much lower. I will take 6-under every day but it felt like it could have been lower."

Michael Sim, 5-under67, T5

"That’s a good start to the tournament. I started on the 10^th hole this morning and started with an eagle, I don’t know if I have ever done that before."

"It just flowed from there and I picked up three birdies in the last three holes."

"The middle stretch of this golf course is where you try and pick up your birdies; the last four holes here are probably four of the tougher holes on the course so if you don’t make the birdies in the middle of the round it can be quite tough coming in."