"It was quite a turnaround for me. My form has been close to being quite good but nothing has come to fruition. I have putted really solid but today I missed a couple of short ones towards the end which was really disappointing.
"It is just nice to be up there and playing some decent golf.
"I like to work hard and when you put your heart into something it is really difficult to accept.
"You sometimes do wonder whether you should be playing the game. I'm 36 now and all sorts of questions float through your mind so to come out here and play well and shoot a course record is really satisfying."
Brad Shilton (-3), Josh Geary (-1) and Ben Campbell (E) are the best placed of the other Kiwis with major thunder storms forecast for late Sunday afternoon.
Tauranga's Geary says they were really tough conditions to play in but he is happy enough with where he is placed.
"I have struggled the last couple of days but made some good saves. I shot 74 today which is about par for the course. There are some guys shooting good scores but most guys are over par.
"A good finish here will secure my card for this (Australasian) tour for next year and go a long way to maybe skipping some stages for Q School in Japan and Europe.
"So it is pretty important to get the summer off to a good start."
• Peter White travelled to Fiji courtesy of Fiji Airways.
