Australia's Steven Bowditch shot a flawless round of eight under par 64 to open up a two stroke lead after the first round of the ING New Zealand PGA Championship at the Clearwater Resort in Christchurch.
The 21 year old, an affiliate Member of The European Tour, continued where he left off in winning last week's Jacob’s Creek Open with four birdies on both the front and back nines.
"It was really just an easy day, nothing went wrong," Bowditch said. "It was one of those days when it was a nice walk in the park."
Five players - Canadian Jon Mills, New Zealand's Tony Christie, American Brent Schwarzrock and Australians Darren Beck and Peter O'Malley - finished the opening round in a five-way tie for second with rounds of six under 66.
