Herbert was four-under par through his final four holes and finished with a seven-under par 64 - the same score as Queenslander Chris Wood, who had a bogey-free day.

Just one shot behind the winners was another Neangar Park product - Andrew Martin, who had a six-under par 65 to be tied third alongside Euan Walters.

A birdie, bogey and par start left Herbert even-par through three holes before a birdie on the par-five fourth hole was the catalyst for a brilliant stretch to complete the front nine.

Herbert birdied the fourth, fifth, seventh, eighth and ninth to make the turn at five-under par.

However, just when it looked like he could shoot something in the low 60s, he lost his momentum.

He made pars on the 10th and 11th holes before his tee shot on the par-three 12th went long and he made a bogey.

A wayward drive on the short par-four 13th led to another bogey and his hopes of winning his home title looked to be slipping away.

While Herbert's round stalled, Wood's round hit fifth gear as he made four birdies in a row from the first - his 12th hole of the day - to the fourth to catapult to seven-under par.

Herbert needed a special finish and that's what he produced.

A brilliant wedge into the 15th set up a birdie and then he holed a lengthy birdie putt on the short par-three 16th.

A monster drive on the par-five 17th gave him a short iron with his second shot.

He left the ball five metres to the left of the pin and calmly holed the eagle putt to move into a tie for the lead at seven-under par.

The 18th is one of the more challenging par-fours on the Neangar Park layout.

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Herbert nailed his drive off the tee, but his wedge from the middle of the fairway went slightly long and he was left with an awkward chip from the back of the green.

Needing a birdie to win outright, Herbert gave the chip every chance to go in, but it slid a couple of metres past the hole.

He made his par putt to tie Wood at seven-under par.

"I was happy with some of it (today),'' Herbert said.

"I had three or four bad holes for the day. I've been working on my driver and I was really happy with the way I drove the ball today. That was big.

"I thought I pitched it pretty well for the most part as well.

"It was a pleasing day, but I still have a lot of polishing work to do before I get back on tour."

Martin was left to lament a double-bogey on the par-four 15th hole.

The Victorian PGA champion started his day on the sixth hole and raced to the top of the leaderboard after making birdies on the par-three seventh and par-five ninth holes.

Further birdies on the 11th and 13th had him perfectly placed before disaster struck on the dog-leg par-four 15th.

Much like Herbert, Martin responded strongly.

He made an eagle on the 17th and birdied the 18th to get back to five-under par with five holes to play.

Martin made pars on the first, second and third holes before a birdie on the par-five fourth lifted him to within one shot of the leaders with just the testing par-fourth fifth to play.

Martin gave himself a "decent" look at birdie, but his birdie putt narrowly slid by the hole and he was forced to settle for a tie for third.

"The course was in as good a condition as I've seen it and it was great weather for scoring,'' Martin said.

"It was great to be home and to play okay was pleasing.

"Coming off a break it was nice to hit the ball well, it was just that one hole (the 15th)."

Queenslander Wood was elated to play well in his first trip back to Neangar Park in three years.

"I hadn't been playing great lately, so the goal today was to keep things simple and try to make no bogeys,'' he said.

"I drove the ball well, I hit a few irons close and made a few putts, so it was nice to get back into some form."

The third of Bendigo's professional trio - Kris Mueck - recovered from a horror start to shoot a two-under par 69.

A double-bogey on the 11th hole and a bogey on the 12th hole left Mueck scrambling at three-over par through his first three holes.

He made four birdies in his next five holes to get his round back on track.

Herbert and Martin will go head-to-head in the same group in Friday's Axedale Pro-Am.

"It should be a good day, I'm looking forward to it,'' Martin said.

"It's great that Neangar and Axedale can put these events on and, hopefully, we can get a third course involved down the track as well."

The Axedale Pro-Am starts at 10am, with the Martin and Herbert group to tee off from the first hole.

Entry is free for spectators.

Lucas Herbert -7 64

Christopher Wood -7 64

Andrew Martin -6 65

Euan Walters -6 65

Ben Paine -5 66

Kyle Michel -5 66

Kevin Smith -4 67

Adam Burdett -3 68

Shae Wools-Cobb -3 68

Brock Gillard -3 68

Hayden Webb -2 69

Dylan Higgins -2 69

Ben Wharton -2 69

Andrew Kelly -2 69

Ryan Lynch -2 69

Alexander Simpson -2 69

Ryan Haywood-2 69

Bradley Kivimets -2 69

George Worrall -2 69

Kris Mueck -2 69

William Bruyeres -2 69

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