Geelong-born Lawson carried his weekend form into the event, taking the early clubhouse lead at Golf Club Adamstal with a seven-under-par round of 63.

The 29-year-old finished last week at the Diamond Country Club with consecutive rounds of 67 and bettered that on Thursday with a round which included nine birdies, including a run of five in a row down the back nine.

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"I felt like I was hitting it alright, I was hitting it steady but made a couple of little errors late on the front nine," Lawson told europeantour.com

"I stayed positive and took it shot by shot. I didn't realise I'd made that many birdies in a row, after the nine I had six more in seven holes.

"I just tried to hit each shot as good as I can, not worrying about what it was for – for bogey or birdie."

Lawson was joined at the top of the leaderboard later in the day by Stanislav Matus. Unlike Lawson, the Czech enjoyed a bogie-free round and reached 63 with seven birdies.

The pair are a shot clear of Jordan Wrisdale, Oliver Lindell and Philip Eriksson while nine other players are a shot further back on five under par.