Michael Long fired 6-under 66 at the Twin Waters Golf Club to take a one-shot lead into round two of the Sunshine Coast Masters.

Darren Rix and John Wade are hot on Long’s heels, with the current Ladbrokes Legends Tour Order of Merit leader Brad Burns a further shot back in a tie for third alongside Richard Backwell, Ken Tarling and Grant Fyander, who both recorded the low rounds of the day at Pelican Waters.

Long’s round included seven birdies and 10 pars, with his only blemish coming at the 365 metre par-4 13^th hole.

“I played really nicely today, only missing three greens. It was my putting that set the tone for my round,” said Long.

“I haven’t spent a long time out on the Legends Tour after turning 50 recently, but I am really enjoying my time playing on the tour. It brings back memories of my youth when I was trying to chase the likes of Senior and Davis many years ago.

“It’s been around 15 years since I last played at Twin Waters, so given my lack of course knowledge, I am very pleased with where I sit heading into the second round.”

Grant Fyander, who shot the equal low round of the day alongside Canadian Ken Tarling at Pelican Waters, is looking forward to continuing his form when he tees it up at tomorrow at Twin Waters.

“I found something in my game at Byron Bay on the weekend and have managed to maintain the same feelings here on the Sunshine Coast,” said Fyander.

“When I see my name above Senior, IBF, McKenzie etc I still have to pinch myself knowing I used to watch those guys on TV.

“I haven’t had the best 2018 with only a handful of top-5 finishes, though without getting ahead of myself and with the scores slightly lower at Twin Waters today, hopefully, I can continue this form tomorrow and put myself in a good position heading into Friday.”

Played across both the Twin Waters and Pelican Waters Golf Club, the tournament has gained strength since its inaugural staging in 2015 and is now regarded as one of the most coveted titles on the Ladbrokes Legends Tour.

Players will now switch courses for their second round, before a 36 hole cut will take place, with the top-50 professionals plus ties, competing in the final round at Twin Waters on Friday.

Five-time ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia winner Michael Long will celebrate his 50th birthday with some of the biggest names in golf as he prepares to make his Champions Tour debut.

Just four days after turning 50 the reigning West Australian PGA champion will make his seniors debut at this week’s Shaw Charity Classic in Alberta, Canada, teeing it up against major champions such as Corey Pavin, Todd Hamilton, Larry Mize, Fred Couples, Mark O’Meara and Bernhard Langer.

Having pre-qualified for the tournament, the Kiwi-born, Perth-based 50-year-old will have an anxious wait, however, paired with Gibby Gilbert III and Stephen Mondshine off the 10th tee in the final group of the day at Canyon Meadows Golf and Country Club.

Long’s win at Kalgoorlie Golf Course in May not only secured status on his home tour for a further two years but provided an injection of confidence before taking on the game’s best senior players.

Fellow Kiwi Grant Waite is also in the field this week along with Aussie pair David McKenzie and Peter Lonard, Lonard finishing 26th or better in each of his four Champions Tour appearances this year.

On the Staysure Tour in Europe, Peter Fowler will be looking to make it two wins on the trot when he contests the Travis Perkins Masters at Woburn Golf Club in England.

Fowler’s win at the Willow Senior Golf Classic last week, the sixth seniors win of his career, moved him up to fifth on the Staysure Tour Order of Merit ahead of his return to a tournament where he has enjoyed success in the past.

In eight previous appearances in the Travis Perkins Masters, the New South Welshman has recorded five top-five finishes and been top-15 on two other occasions.

Mike Harwood was 20th in last year’s tournament and has a best finish of tied for ninth in 2012 while Peter O’Malley is making his fourth start in the tournament, his best result a tie for 10th two years ago.

New Zealander Michael Long has won the 2018 TX Civil & Logistics WA PGA Championship at Kalgoorlie Golf Course.

Firing rounds of  70, 69, 71, 64 for a four-round total of 14-under 274, Long ran away with the title on the back-9 today.

Long claimed the win by one shot from Brody Martin, who lead following the third round.

This becomes Long’s fifth ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia title and second WA PGA Championship win after he last won the tournament in 2008 at The Cut.

For his win Long picks up 18,750 in prize money, official world rankings points and is now fully exempt on the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia until the end of the 2019 season.

More to come.

New Zealander Michael Long has recorded a dream victory at the TX Civil & Logistics WA PGA Championship after equalling the course record at Kalgoorlie Golf Course.

Starting the final day five shots behind round three leader Brody Martin, Long dreamed of going low to snatch the win.

“I woke up this morning thinking that if I got it to 15-under, I was just dreaming, but that would probably be enough. It would mean that Brody would have to shot 68 to tie me,” said Long.

“But I really didn’t go out there with the intention of shooting a 64 let alone a 63. I just wanted to have a nice round.”

Opening with three birdies, Long experienced a special day on the golf course where everything went his way, his irons were dialled in and his putter hot.

“It was just going straight at the pin, I would aim five feet left or right of the pin and it would go there or I would just pull it onto the pin. It just seemed to have perfect distance control,” added Long.

“The putting was good, it just seemed that whenever I had a 10 footer I holed it, I was just putting a really good stroke on it. I didn’t miss too many out there, you can’t when you have 10 birdies.

“I had Matt Millar and Neven Basic stay with me last week and I must have been acting like a real child because they came out on the putting green and had a look at my putting.

“So I have to thank Matt and Neven for straightening me out probably mentally more than anything else on the putting green.”

Firing 8-under 64 in the final round, Long equalled the course record first set by amateur Min Woo Lee in 2015 and equalled by a further three players in between.

“It is one of those things that you dream of, shooting a course record in the final round to do something like that so it’s pretty cool,” added Long, who had rounds of 70, 69, 71 and 64.

In the clubhouse at 14-under 274, the Kiwi, who calls Perth home, had a nervous wait to see if 23-year-old Brody Martin could birdie his final hole to force a playoff.

“I have never had to do that before, I have always been in the second last group, never been five groups finished and waiting for a result,” added Long, who joined the PGA TV commentary team and even had time to give some golf tips while he waited.

“I hated that wait, I really did, I didn’t know what to do with myself. I was just making idle chit chat and then when someone said that Brody had birdied 16, I thought it was time to go to the range and do a few things.”

When Martin was unable to make his much needed birdie, Long officially claimed his second TX Civil & Logistics WA PGA Championship title and fifth on the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia.

“To win this title twice is pretty special, it’s the first time I have ever won a tournament twice so it is pretty neat,” added Long, who won the title in 2008 when it was played at The Cut.

“The older you get these opportunities don’t come along that much, even though I still like to think that I am young at heart.”

It’s an important win for Long with the winner’s exemption he earned thanks to his 2016 Oates Vic Open victory expiring at the end of this season.

“It just seems so long ago (the Oates Vic Open win) and I was getting antsy and mad at myself,” added Long, who is now fully exempt until the end of the 2019 season.

“Not only is there pride from the win, but I didn’t have a very good start to the season, I missed the cut at the Oates Vic Open the tournament  that I really like playing and then Perth and all of a sudden I was behind the eight ball.

“So that was occupying my mind more than anything else coming down the stretch, I needed this so I just made sure it happened,”

While Brody Martin finished runner-up on 13-under the card, his final round playing partner and reigning Oates Vic Open Champion Simon Hawkes finished third on 12-under the card.

Two shots further back was Jake Higginbottom while Cameron John and Jarryd Felton rounded out the top-5 on 9-under the card.

For all results from the TX Civil & Logistics WA PGA Championship please visit pga.org.au.

With the winner’s cheque in-hand Long moves to 33^rd on the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit.

For the full order of merit please visit pga.org.au.

The ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia now takes a break until the Fiji International presented by Fiji Airways is played from 2-5 August at Natadola Bay Championship Golf Course.

For the full schedule please visit pga.org.au.