Dunedin golfer Mahal Pearce is well in the hunt after the opening day of the New Zealand Open.
Pearce, the most recent New Zealander to win the Open, shot a 2-under-par 70 to be two shots off the lead after the first round.
He had two bogies after teeing off on the 10th hole but grabbed four birdies, coming home strongly by picking up shots on the second, third and eighth holes.
Dunedin amateur Michael Smith faded after a promising start to post a 3-over 75.
Smith was 1-under through seven, with a birdie on the par-five 14th, and was briefly the leading non-professional in the field.
But bogies on the first, sixth and eighth holes rather spoiled his Open debut.
"It was pretty windy for most of the day, so it was quite tough. It was a lot harder than playing an amateur event, for sure," Smith said.
He lamented a missed 1.8m putt for birdie on the 16th, while he nearly sank a birdie pitt on the first hole but it ran well past, and he missed the return putt.
Smith dealt well with the par-five fifth hole, on which both Michael Campbell and David Smail posted triple bogies on their way to 77s.
"I hit a bad second into the bunker. But I hit a reasonably good 6-iron to about 20 feet [6m] and made par."
Smith suspects the cut could be made quite high, especially if the wind gets up this afternoon.
He said there was a reasonable crowd at Clearwater, especially following Campbell's group.
The Hills professional Craig Palmer, playing the Open on a sponsor's invitation, shot an 84.
He dropped nine shots through the first nine holes but then rattled off seven consecutive pars.
