The team was almost unrecognisable from the line-up which helped to win the division one title last season but they showed Bathurst will again be a force with several experienced members in the squad.

Phil Campbell played his first pennants match in three years and enjoyed a 6 and 5 win over Matt Consadine. He was backed up by wins from Luke Ellis, Scott Matheson and Bill Casey, while Greg Kelly went down in a close one.

“Four and 1 sounds like a convincing win but all the matches were fairly close, maybe apart from mine,” Campbell said.

“Matt Consadine is a fantastic player but he just didn’t play his best golf. I was solid on the holes and I was very happy with my putting. Even though, in the end it was pretty convincing, I was always wary because I know what he is capable of.

“I finished early so I was able to get around and watch the other guys play. They all did very well because Mudgee are a quality team.”

Two of the matches went down to the final hole, with Ellis beating John Osborn 2 up and Casey edging out David Pearce by the same margin.

In his first year in division one, 14-year-old Matheson showed he will be one to watch with an impressive 3 and 1 win over Matt Hicks.

Kelly went down 3 and 2 but he is another making his debut and he will have learned from the match.

“Greg is in his first year and sometimes it is just luck of the draw,” Campbell said. “Sometimes you play well but you just come up against someone who played better on the day.

“Scott Matheson is in his first year in division one but he has a big future.

“Bill Casey has a lot of experience and Luke Ellis had played a lot in Sydney, so we had a good mix of youth and experience.”

There are also other experienced players who will come back into the side, including Paul Bright, who

was a driving force behind last year’s win.

“We have eight players who put their hand up to play. Paul was playing in another tournament on the weekend but he should be back for the rest of the games,” Campbell said. “It’s good to have that depth in the side and we had the best possible start.

“It’s a prestigious event to play in. I am honoured to be back in the team after taking a couple of years off. The side gets a lot of support from the Bathurst club and Matt Barrett, the professional up there has taken a big interest which is fantastic.”

After the opening round Bathurst have taken the lead with 1.4 points, just ahead of Wentworth and Forbes, who are both on 1.3.

Dubbo and Wellington are both on 0.2, while Mudgee bring up the rear with 0.1.

In division two Bathurst beat Forbes 3-2, division three saw Ex-Services get up 3-2 over Bathurst and in division four Bathurst made the best possible start with a 5-0 hammering of Wentworth.