Local stars Cameron Smith and Jason Day started well on the opening day of the Australian PGA Championship to put themselves in a good position at Royal Queensland.

Tied for third position at -4 with several other players, fellow Aussie Elvis Smylie is the outright leader at -6.

Smylie, the son of former world number 20 tennis player Liz, made birdie at the par 5 ninth after sending a fat bunker shot into another green side bunker before holing the next shot to snatch the solo lead.

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The 22-year-old is one shot clear of Swiss player Joel Girrbach.

Playing in the same group as Smith and Day, defending champion Min Woo Lee got off to a hot start with five birdies in his first 11 holes to take the early lead before three bogeys in his second nine holes overshadowed his earlier good work.

He slipped back to the chasing pack at -3.

Teeing off at 6.10am, Smith and Day both shrugged off sluggish starts.

Smith, who is fighting a cold, struggled to find his groove early — reaching the turn at even par.

Smith recovered with four birdies in the latter half of his round while Day went bogey-free.

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Marc Leishman also sits tied for third alongside his Ripper GC teammates Smith and Day at -4, with a round that included six birdies.

The sight of two Queenslanders in Smith and Day going shot-for-shot had the home fans excited.

Day has not featured on home soil since the 2017 Australian Open.

Speaking post-round, Smith recalled the first time he met Day almost two decades ago.

As teenagers, the pair played in the Queensland Junior at Indooroopilly Golf Club.

“He would have won that week or come close. He was a gun. He was one I looked up to,” Smith said.

“Particularly around that age when you spend a lot of time in different competitions.”

Smith, Day and Lee are grouped together for the second round on Friday afternoon.

Day expressed his eagerness with the prospect of some all-Australian groupings across the weekend.

“It’s always fun to be in contention, regardless [of] who it is, but if it’s two Brissy boys, that’d be nice too,” he said.