West Australian Josh Greer heads that group after he followed up an opening 68 at Southport & Ainsdale with a 66 that looked as though it could be even better early in the round at primary host venue Hillside.

Born in Glasgow, Scotland, Greer opened his round with five birdies in six holes after early rain cleared and added two more early in his back nine before an 18th hole bogey saw him finish on nine-under for 36-holes and in fifth alone, two shots back of top seed Ben Van Wyk.

South African Van Wyk followed his opening 64 at Hillside with a 68 to claim the No.1 spot in the match play draw that begins with round one contested by a group of 42 players, including Australian Billy Dowling.

Dowling finished the strokeplay at three-under, a one shot buffer over the cutline that claimed the remaining 11 of the Australian contingent, including Harrison Crowe (-1) and Jeffrey Guan (+1).

Dowling will now face Kristoffer Max of Denmark in the first round of the match play, while Greer and Jasper Stubbs are through to the second round, Stubbs’ rounds of 69-70 good for four-under and a share of 31st.

“I'm hitting it pretty good so if I can keep doing that it makes it a bit easier. I guess whoever putts the best generally wins but I’ve just got to see what I can do.” – Josh Greer.

The Aussie trio will now try to emulate Bryden Macpherson, the Victorian winning The Amateur the last time it was held at Hillside back in 2011.

But despite his Scottish roots, 22-year-old Greer doesn’t believe he has any significant advantage across the links on England’s Golf Coast.

“I didn't really play much golf when I lived in Scotland. It was more football,” Greer said. “I guess all the courses I've played have been in Perth, but I come back here every year so I'm used to this sort of golf.

“I'm hitting it pretty good so if I can keep doing that it makes it a bit easier. I guess whoever putts the best generally wins but I’ve just got to see what I can do.”

Greer will await the results of the first round matches to find out his first opponent in the head-to-head section of the event, while Stubbs will take on Minato Oshima of Japan.