"Yeah it was good after getting off to a slow start and once I got to the first I knew there were some birdie and eagle chances to come," said Brown.
"It will be pretty low scoring and almost a putting competition out there, but I have won the last three times I have played here, so the track record is good. It's nice to be back and playing in front of family and friends."
Knedler who is in slightly unfamiliar territory, is excited about the week ahead as he looks to make the most of playing in his own backyard.
"It feels great to do this at home, the old man is on the bag who offers a good distraction in between shots and he has been there from the start, so I can't wait to get back into it," said Knedler.
There is a swarm of good names not far behind, but two players who will struggle to sleep this evening are Te Puke teenager Harry Hillier and Daniel Pearce.
Both players made it to seven-under and with holes up their sleeve before both making disastrous triple bogeys on the 16th and 17th respectively to come home in an ambulance.
Te Puke pro Jared Pender (-5) and Tauranga's Josh Geary (-4) are right in the mix. Further down the leaderboard, Gareth Paddison, who has won the last two consecutive events on the Jennian Homes Charles Tour has left the door slightly ajar in the race for the Jennian Homes Trophy after shooting a controlled round of three-under.
This puts Brown in a nice position to apply pressure on the in-form Paddison. For Brown to steal the trophy at the final event, he will firstly require a victory on Sunday afternoon and Paddison to finish outside the top three.
It's a close race in the women's field with three youth versus experience with Rose Zheng, Carmin Lim and Chantelle Cassidy in a share for the lead at one-under.
Omanu's Alanna Campbell shot a disappointing three-over 75.