Ryan Fox and Mark Brown have made a solid start for New Zealand at the World Cup of Golf in Melbourne, finishing the opening day inside the top 10.
They shot a first-round seven-under 65 at the Metropolitan Golf Club on Thursday, sitting just three shots behind a trio of leaders in a tie for ninth.
Australia, England and South Korea are tied at the top, after producing rounds of 10-under 62, sitting a shot ahead of Belgium, defending champions Denmark and surprise package Malaysia.
Playing a four-ball first round - where the best individual performance on each hole counts - the Kiwis had birdies on the fifth, seventh, ninth, 10th, 12th, 13th and 18th.
They will play foursomes - where golfers alternate turns playing the same ball - on Friday and Sunday, with another round of four-ball in between on Saturday.
Brown said he was pleased with how his combination with Fox improved over the round.
"It was tough early on, the wind was blowing, but we hung in there. The front nine was pretty slow for us, but we fought our way back on the back nine, which was pleasing.
"It is lots of fun with Ryan. I think we talk more about fishing than golf, but in all seriousness, we combined well.
"There were times where when one of us was struggling on a hole, the other one would make a birdie or a good par.
"Foxy usually hits the ball a long way, while I'm pretty straight, so it seemed to work well today."
Fox and Brown tee off in their second round at 1:55pm (NZ time) Friday.
Newshub.
