Taylor fired four birdies and one bogey on his way to a round of 3-under (70) to lead by one shot over former winner Peter Senior.

“I have been playing good golf lately but just haven’t been able to make putts,” Taylor said.

“Today I managed to make some good putts which helped. These greens are some of the best greens we have played on this year which helped me today.”

Peter Senior is in second place heading into round two, one shot off the pace, followed by Ben Jackson and David Fearns who are T3 at 1-under (72).

“I like playing at Rowes Bay, I have some good memories here,” Senior said.

“I am in a good position to challenge tomorrow and I am looking forward to it”

Rounding out the top five are recent SParms Legends Tour winners Andre Stolz (73) and Brad Burns (74), who are sure to be in contention.

Round two play commences at 11.30am local time today, with wet and humid tropical North Queensland weather forecast for the morning.