One is taking inspiration from his best mate and the other is just glad to have his clubs back.
David Bransdon and Won Joon Lee have different stories to tell but are part of a very familiar theme at the $1 million New Zealand Open: the Australians want the title.
Victorian journeyman Bransdon and Korean-born New South Welshman Lee each fired sparkling 9-under-par 63s yesterday to lead the Open by two shots after the first round.
They made the most of the stunning conditions at The Hills to tear up the leaderboard in the afternoon.
The chasing pack includes four more Australians, Matthew Guyatt at 7-under and Aaron Pike, Nick Cullen and former champion Brad Kennedy at 6-under.
Lee's blemish-free round, featuring six successive birdies and nine in total, was remarkable, considering an airline lost his clubs between Sydney and Queenstown earlier in the week.
He did not get them back until 4pm on Wednesday, meaning his pre-tournament practice consisted of a hurried eight holes.
''I didn't expect to play as well as I did,'' Lee said yesterday.
''I just got going on the back nine and holed some good putts.''
The club situation meant Lee did not have time to visit Millbrook this week and today's second round will be his first sighting of the course.
''I know it's five minutes down the road. Yardage books are done so well these days it doesn't make much difference.''
Bransdon (41), who shot a course record at the Victorian PGA last month on his way to a tie for fifth, hopes to follow in the footsteps of his best mate, Matthew Millar, who won the New Zealand PGA at Remuera last week.
He was relishing the prospect of the pair sweeping the major events on this side of the Tasman.
''That would be absolutely fantastic. That would be awesome,'' Bransdon said.
''I owe Matty a lot. He's helped me a lot over the last couple of years with my short game. It's been good travelling with him and it was nice to see him have a win last week.''
Bransdon's spectacular round included an eagle and seven birdies, and he hopes to translate his sharp work on the greens to Millbrook today.
Neither Lee nor Bransdon had any idea they were a shot away from equalling the course record at The Hills.
The best of the New Zealanders after the first round were Michael Hendry and Jared Pender at 4-under-par.
Hendry, who won the New Zealand PGA both years it was held at The Hills, carded his 67 at Millbrook, and should now get three consecutive rounds at his preferred course to stage an assault on the title he covets most.
''I think The Hills suits my style of game better, so to get a good round going here is a great start for me,'' Hendry said.
''I've struggled on the greens at Millbrook. I don't read them well. That's one thing I've always done well at The Hills.
''It's nice to get off to a good start because I haven't played a lot lately and when I have, it's been rusty.''
Hendry has seen his No 1 New Zealand ranking fall into the hands of Ryan Fox, and now gets a chance to pursue his dream of becoming the first homegrown winner of the Open since 2003 in relative anonymity.
''It does take some attention away from what I'm doing, which is cool.
''But I've still got expectations to succeed and I still feel like I'm as good as anyone playing here.''
Fox made a solid start but slipped to 1-under-par with a frustrating double bogey on his final hole.
Of the other leading New Zealand hopes, Mark Brown and Josh Geary are at 2-under and Gareth Paddison and David Smail are at 1-under.
Defending champion Dimitrios Papadatos carded a 5-over-par 77 at The Hills and will battle to make the cut, let alone retain his title.
The pre-tournament theory had been that scoring would be slightly easier at Millbrook but seven of the leading eight rounds were carded at The Hills.
In the pro-am, former Open champion Greg Turner and 15-year-old son Jack turned on the style at Millbrook as they flirted with the lead.
Greg has the remarkable pedigree but he would have been buying dinner for Jack last night.
Turner senior battled to an individual score of 7-over-par 78, carding six bogies, a double bogey and a sole birdie. But the young fellow carried Dad on his back, carding a net 64.
The Turners are at 7-under, 10 shots behind the leaders, Kalem Richardson and Malcolm Ramsay.
