Andrews shot four-under par 68 to finish four strokes behind pacesetter Cooper Eccleston at the Ballarat Golf Club on Wednesday.

He holds a slight lead over Mtchell Gannon and 2017 national champion Frazer Droop.

Andrews began the day with two pars before dropping a stroke on the third hole.

He bounced back with five birdies in the space of 12 holes and finished with four consecutive pars on the back nine.

"To birdie the fourth after bogeying the third really gave me confidence through that mid section of the front nine," he told The Courier afterwards.

"I hit it quite well, I played smart on the holes that were tough and I was able to hold a few putts on the par-fives."

The performance saw Andrews jump three spots up the leaderboard after entering the day's action in fifth. He expressed delight over his performance.

"I'm really happy with my position," he said.

"I wasn't playing amazing golf coming in so it's good to bounce back and get some good scores on the board again."

Meanwhile Eccleston backed up an exceptional opening day of action with another solid outing.

The former PGA Trainee Champion shot a five under-par 67 which featured seven birdies - three of which came in succession.

Andrews said it would be hard to catch Eccleston but he still had him in his sights.

"Cooper's an exceptional player so it's going to be hard to chase him down, but if I can put the pressure on and play steady you never know," he said.

Droop had an even round with six birdies and three bogeys. Gannon finished four-under par 68, while Tyrone Dowling rounded out the top five with a four-under par 68 also.

Gannon, who jumped up 14 spots after day one, said he was happy to be among the leaders.

"I dropped a few on the last couple of holes but other than that I played pretty well all day," he said.

"The course suits my game, it's in great nick and there isn't much more you can ask for."