South Australia’s Nick Cullen has snuck out to a two-stroke lead after the opening round of the Talisker Australian Masters at Royal Melbourne Golf Club.

The left-hander shot a six under 65 but it could have been much better considering he made six birdies and a pitch-in eagle on the par-4 11th hole of the Composite course.

Cullen, who won the Isuzu Queensland Open back in August, played the course like a seasoned veteran – hitting to the right parts of the fairway from the tee to leave straight-forward approaches into the greens. Even after a few days of rain, the putting surfaces of Australia’s best course were very quick and Cullen found a way to keep his ball below the hole more often than not.

Nick Cullen is already a winner in 2013 but he's hoping for his biggest payday this week at the Talisker Australian Masters. PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES

“My form has been solid but I was not really totally happy with my ball striking,” Cullen said. “But I talked to my coach (Troy Lane) this week and just worked on a couple of things. So the game felt pretty good actually.

“Hit it really well, putted pretty solid and holed a couple of good putts and pitched in on the 11th which always helps,“ he laughed.

Cullen, who is the twin brother of Australian cricketer Dan, said he was happy to be at the top of the leaderboard and a few shots clear of the defending champion, Adam Scott, who opened his account with a 67 to share second place with Germany’s Max Kieffer.

“It is great. It is what you play these events for. It is where you want to be,” the 29-year-old said. “So it is exactly where I want to be and hopefully I will be there again tomorrow and around the mark on Sunday.”

He said he was looking forward to the pressure of keeping his place near the head of the field over the next three days.

“If you want to play the big events and you want to play with the best players, there is always going to be a bit of pressure and you will be a little bit nervous but it means you are playing good golf and you are around the mark,” he said. “If you are not feeling pressure and a little bit nervous then you are probably not contending.”

There were good crowds out early at Royal Melbourne, despite the wintery conditions, to watch World No.2 and Masters Champion Adam Scott. PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES

Scott, as he was for the first few round at the Australian PGA Championship last week, was seemingly in cruise control during his round but admitted he left a few shots out on the course.

“I did not make all the putts that I would have liked to today,” Scott said. “A couple of the short holes, the 11th, which was my first, and then the 6th hole I walked off with par from just having pitches onto the green.

“Also the par-5 down the back 15 … I was pin high in two and walked off with par. So, yes, I felt like I left a couple out there but my game was in pretty good shape other than that and, you know, four rounds like that might go a long way this week.”

He might be right and he’s not taking any chances. Unable to do much practice since winning the PGA on Sunday evening, the World No.2 made a beeline for the practice tee after his round to work on a few things.

“I have not done much practice since last week so I felt I would try and sneak a few balls in before lunch,” he said. “But a 67 round here is a good score.”

The Masters champion said his limited schedule this year and managing his off course activities during his ‘Australian Lap of Honour’ was keeping him fresh to do as well as possible during these four consecutive tournaments.

“I have tried to be generous with my time where I can and help everyone out but I also want to play well and can’t be doing functions every night,” he said. “So we have tried to manage that the best we can and certainly I think having not played that much this year makes it a lot easier to come down here and play four at the end of the year.

“I always tell people that they can slap me if I tell them I am not fresh when I am at a golf tournament. Because I play such a light schedule I always feel pretty ready to get out there and play and the same will go for these four weeks.”

While there were a large number of fans braving Melbourne’s cold and wet morning to follow Scott, there were arguably more surrounding the 1st tee just after midday to welcome Jarrod Lyle back to professional golf.

Jarrod Lyle cries after hitting the opening tee shot of his comeback to professional golf. PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES

Lyle, who was diagnosed with leukaemia for a second time nearly 20 months ago and has beaten the disease again, chose to make his comeback at Royal Melbourne where he went close to winning the Heineken Classic in 2005.

On the eve of the tournament the 32-year-old dedicated his 1st tee shot to everyone who supported him throughout his fight. It seemed like most of them were there … there was wife Briony, daughter Lusi, other Lyle family members, and a host of people he’s probably never met before.

It was a highly emotional Lyle who choked back tears, sucked in some deep breaths and then set-up for his opening tee shot. Considering his emotional state, he was able to put a reasonable swing on the shot, which finished in the left rough.

With the tee shot done, Lyle slipped past his playing partners to stand at the back of the tee and wept. Minutes later, he smoothed an iron shot onto the 1st green and narrowly missed a birdie. At the 2nd hole, he flushed a fairway wood onto the green of the par-5 and was left with a 10-foot eagle chance. The ball burned the hole but a tap-in birdie put him in red figures. Lyle was back.

“It was nice to get out there and see everybody that I love standing around the tee and even people I have never met before,” Lyle said. “You know, the crowd on the first tee was something I was not expecting and then to hear Lusi call out “Daddy.” I sort of turned around and I thought I have got to find her and give her one last cuddle, and that was it, that was the end of me. Once that happened I was an absolute mess.

“But I hit that first tee shot with tears all through my eyes and normally I probably would have backed off but I thought, no, I just want to get it over and done with as quick as possible and hit a good shot. So I was pretty happy when I saw it going in the air down the fairway.

“I think the first sort of two or three holes I was really nervous but I hit a lot of good shots. I hit my spots. I hit it where I wanted to hit and, you know, I think that 3-wood I hit on the green on the 2nd hole was probably the best shot I have hit in 20 months because I have not played for 20 months. That was a bit of a joke there,” he laughed.

Jarrod Lyle hugs his wife, Briony, after walking off the 18th green at the completion of his first round. He's now aiming to make the cut. PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES

Carding a one-over 72, Lyle said he was happy to put the first round behind him and now the goal was to make the cut and play the weekend.

“My dream is to come here and make the cut,” added Lyle.

“I have fought like crazy to shoot a reasonable score and I want to make sure that I come out tomorrow … I’m ready to go on that 1st tee and play another good round of golf,” he said.

“To be honest, I want to make the cut. I do not want to come here and start my comeback with a two-day event and go ‘well I tried’.

“I want to stand up on Sunday afternoon, walk off the 18th green and go ‘I’ve played four days … how bloody good is that?”

That could be the moment that transcends any glory a Gold Jacket might offer. It would be a triumph of the human spirit and one of sport's great stories of 2013.

1. Nick Cullen (SA)      65

T2. Adam Scott (Qld)  67

T2. Max Kieffer (Ger)   67

T4. Anthony Brown (Vic)          68

T4. Stepehn Leaney (WA)       68

T4. Peter O’Malley (NSW)        68

T4. Ryan Fox (NZ)        68

T4. Brody Ninyette (WA)          68

T4. Brendon DeJonge (Zim)    68

T4. Nathan Holman (Vic)         68

T4. Brett Rankin (Qld)  68