WELLINGTON, Feb 24: Australia's Steven Bowditch shot a flawless round of eight-under-par 64 to grab a two-stroke lead after the first round of the New Zealand PGA in Christchurch on Thursday.

The 21-year-old continued where he left off in winning last week's South Australian Open with four birdies on both the front and back nines. "It was really just an easy day, nothing went wrong," Bowditch told a news conference. "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.

A further five players finished a shot back as 65 players broke par for the day in perfect conditions. The tournament is co-sanctioned by the senior Australasian and U.S. PGA's secondary tours.

FIRST ROUND SCORES

64 Steven Bowditch

66 Jon Mills, Darren Beck, Tony Christie, Peter O'Malley, Brent Schwarzrock

67 Bryce Molder, Steven Jeffress, Ken Duke, Jarrod Lyle, Jeff Gove

68 Ricky Barnes, Jason Schultz, Kyle Thompson, Johnson Wagner, Kris Cox, Simon Nash, Wayne Grady, Tyler Williamson. -Agencies