Dawn was still a couple of hours away when golfer David Bransdon's alarm clock roused him at Barwon Heads on Victoria's Bellarine Peninsula.
He certainly made the most of the sleep interruption with a stunning start on Thursday to the Victorian Open at nearby 13th Beach golf links.
Bransdon, 43, set a hot pace for his younger tour colleagues with a birdie-studded eight-under-par 64 around the 6353m Creek course, the easier of the two layouts being used for the integrated men's and women's events.
"The alarm went off at 4-something and it's never nice when it's that early. But we were supposed to get northerlies and didn't get any, so it was great. We warmed up in a wind but, by the time we got to the first tee, it was nice," the Victorian said.
"It's always nice to start a tournament with that sort of number. I putted well early, I had six-under on the front nine and then birdied 10, so the putter was really hot.
"I didn't hit it quite as close on the closing holes and didn't get a look at birdies, but I kept playing nicely and didn't get into any trouble."
Bransdon, having earned a card to play on the Japan tour this year, has a handful of top-10 finishes at the Victorian Open without threatening to win the title.
He leads by two strokes from Victorian Deyen Lawson, Queensland's Brett Rankin and New Zealand's Michael Hendry.
Lawson, 26, is the local hope as a member of Curlewis, one of several golf clubs on the Bellarine Peninsula, east of Geelong.
2015 champion Richard Green is in group one shot further back.
Green didn't have far to travel to meet his early tee time - he bought a house in the gated resort with Norwegian girlfriend Marianne Skarpnord shortly before the pair completed a unique golf double two years ago by winning the respective titles.
The left-hander, who played with defending champion Michael Long and tournament favourite Robert Allenby, was square after nine holes before igniting his round, collecting five birdies on his back nine for 67.
Long also mounted a back-nine recovery with three late birdies allowing him to sign for an even-par 72.
Allenby made a steady rather than spectacular start with a two-under 70 on the Creek course that hosted most of the players in the top half of the first-round leaderboard.
Those players will tackle the tougher 6365m Beach course when the fields swap layouts for Friday's second round.
Victorian Daniel Popovic, the 2012 Australian PGA champion, has former Test captain Ricky Ponting as his caddie. Popovic is back in the pack after a one-over 73.
Share
