Kiwi Shilton leads the way at Vic PGA

Local golfer Lisa Jean became the first woman to compete in the men's Victorian PGA Championship on Tuesday but it was New Zealander Brad Shilton who shone brightest in the first round at Huntingdale.

Jean, 34, carded a 78 to trail Shilton by 14 shots.

She did have the satisfaction of ending the day's play in front of three other men including recent Australian PGA champion Daniel Popovic, who carded a 79.

Shilton, though, was in fine touch.

He teed off in one of the last groups and fired a bogey-free 64, leaving him two shots clear of Victorians Taylor Macdonald, David McKenzie and Ashley Hall.

One shot further back is the well-performed West Australian Michael Sim and rookie pro Anthony Houston.

Seven players, including veteran Peter O'Malley and defending champion Aaron Townsend, were tied fifth on 68.

Successive three-putts on the 14th and 15th greens didn't help Jean's cause and she then stumbled over the tough finishing stretch.

"I was very uncertain coming into the tournament," said Jean.

"I didn't want to make a fool of myself. But I started well and should have made a few more birdies early on and then I tried to press near the end on those long holes coming in.

"But it felt good to be out there and was a lot of fun. And it proves that if I can go all right, other girls can. And maybe we can play some mixed events in the future."

Jean qualified for the Victorian PGA Championship, one of the oldest tournaments on the Australian calendar, after winning the Victorian club professional title midway through last year.

Previous winners of the title include five-time British Open champion Peter Thomson, Peter Senior and Stuart Appleby.