Wade Ormsby and Stuart Manley held a share of the early lead as the ISPS Handa Vic Open made its European Tour debut on Thursday.
The format this week sees the field tackle the Beach and the Creek courses at 13th Beach Golf Club, with men and women from four tours playing over the same layouts in separate tournaments for equal prize money.
Home favourite Ormsby tackled his first ten holes on the Beach course in six under to hit the front but Challenge Tour graduate Manley soon joined him as he turned in 30 over the Creek course.
Australians Nick Cullen and Michael Sim were then at five under, a shot clear of countrymen Andrew Dodt, Andrew Martin and Daniel Nisbet, and Englishmen Andrew Johnston and Oliver Wilson.
After a fog delay of an hour and ten minutes, Cullen birdied the tenth, 13th and 16th on the Creek to sit at three under and Welshman Manley was also there after making a birdie-birdie-birdie start from the first.
After birdies on the tenth and 11th to start his round, Ormsby joined the lead with another on the seventh and when he made it a hat-trick on the eighth and ninth, he was the man out in front.
Cullen was not in the mood to be shaken off and picked up shots on the first and second to get alongside Ormsby but he would not be there for long, with last season's Hong Kong Open champion making it four birdies in a row on the first.
Manley would then end the front nine just as he started it, making another hat-trick of gains from the seventh to share the lead.
Sim had birdies on the tenth, 11th, 15th, 17th, second and fourth in his first 13 holes over the Beach, with a bogey on the 13th.
Wilson had held the early lead after birdies on the second, third, fifth and sixth but he bogeyed the eighth before picking the shot back up on the tenth.
Johnston was also four under after ten holes with birdies on the tenth, 13th, 15th and 17th.
Dodt made a burst to the turn, birdieing the fifth, sixth, seventh and ninth in his first 11 holes, while Nisbet and Martin had completed nine and seven holes respectively.
There was a group of 15 players at three under including Ryan Fox, Lucas Herbert and Kurt Kitayama.
