Shepparton star leading The National Tournament

It was a gear-change leading into the tournament that Michel credited for his fierce finish - which left him one short of the course record of 63.

“I wanted to make a change because I was using a counter-balance putter which is a bit longer and a bit heavier and I just felt like I wanted a shorter putter in the bag to feel the stroke a little bit more,” Michel told PGA Australia after play.

“Amazing what happens. Put a new putter in the bag and it gets hot. The new putter syndrome.

“Had a first putt with it on Tuesday and it’s been working so far.”

His last three holes included successful putts of 35-feet, 10-feet and 40-feet.

Michel tees off for the second round at The National GC in Moonah at 9.51am on Friday.

You can follow his scores here - https://pga.org.au/