Stephen Leaney may not be playing a full-time schedule anymore but he still managed to fire an opening 66 and sit just a shot off the lead after the first round of the Fiji International.
The event takes its place on the European Tour International Schedule for the first time this week while Leaney is teeing it up in his 149th tournament.
It is his first European Tour event outside of his own country since 2009 as he goes in hunt of a first win since the 2002 Linde German Masters.
That was Leaney's fourth European Tour title and while the 47 year old admitted he has one eye on seniors golf, his performance at Natadola Bay Golf Course left him at six under, just a shot behind fellow Australian Anthony Houston - who equalled the course record with a 65.
"It was nice to come out and just get off to a good start," he said. "I didn't do anything spectacular, I just did a lot of things well. I made a couple of 20-footers and the other four birdies were six and eight feet.
"You don't get it pretty calm too often so you really have to take advantage of it because you know you're going to get it windy the last three days.
"This is my eighth tournament this year, all in Australia, so I don't play full time any more, I'd rather watch my kids grow up but I still work hard.
It's nice to see the work paying off - Stephen Leaney
"I've been working hard in the gym the last 13 or 14 months, trying to re-dedicate myself so when I do come out and play I'm still competitive. It's nice to see the work paying off."
Leaney turned in 32 thanks to birdies on the third, sixth, eighth and ninth and added further gains on the 11th and 17th to hit the summit.
That looked set to hand him a share of the first-round lead with Jake Higginbottom and Houston but the latter birdied his final hole to vault in front of his rivals.
Starting on the tenth, Houston birdied the 11th, 13th and 16th before an eagle on the 17th saw him turn in 31. He then went birdie-bogey-birdie from the fourth before making his closing gain.
"It was really good," he said. "I got off to a pretty good start when it was windy, I was five under through seven. Then I had a bit of a rough patch mid-round and just held it together and then made a few birdies coming home. It's always nice to birdie the last.
"It's nerve-wracking but it's where you want to be.
"You think I might have played aggressive but I didn't. I just played to where I thought I should and just holed a few putts."
It's nerve-wracking but it's where you want to be - Anthony Houston
Birdies on the first, third and fifth saw Higginbottom turn in 33 and while he dropped a shot on the 11th, he produced a big finish with further gains on the 13th, 16th, 17th and 18th.
Australians Matthew Giles, Damien Jordan, Jason Norris, Aaron Pike and Aaron Wilkin were then at five under, a shot clear of countrymen Matthew Griffin and Ryan Haller.
American duo Brandt Snedeker and Boo Weekley were then at three under, with home hero Vijay Singh in a group of players five shots off the lead.
