The Wodonga schoolboy, 17, who was the second youngest in a field including world No. 1 Rory McIlroy and No. 3 Adam Scott, couldn’t buy a birdie in his opening round 76.

Murray had short, mid and long range birdie putts burn the cup as the 6625-metre layout at The Australian that had the last laugh.

A number of missed short par putts, bunkers and water left him five-over and nine shots off the pace.

Click here for a look back at yesterday's live blog following Zach's performance. 

One of Golf Australia’s juniors in a star-studded field Murray teed off on the back nine just after 8am and just as the morning rain settled in.

Coming to the turn he was one-over and a 300-plus-metre drive down the 18th fairway, his ninth hole, left him with a seven-iron for an eagle opportunity.

The ball died on the wind, hit the apron of the green and rolled back into the lake.

It was another bogey.

“I just wasn’t sure of that shot, didn’t know whether I had enough club,” Murray said after his round.

“The wind was blowing from behind and as I hit it, well it just died.”

But Murray said a stone cold putter was his biggest anchor.

“I hit the ball really well, found the fairways and gave myself countless birdie chances,” he said.

“I just couldn’t get a putt to drop.

“They slipped by the hole, went around the cup.

“I made a great putt on the first from about 20 feet but other than that didn’t make a decent putt all day.

“At the end of the day I think five-over was bad as I could have scored.

“My caddie said as we walked down the last that we should have been even or perhaps one-over at the worst, it didn’t feel like I had five-over.”

Murray, who was playing just a few holes behind McIlroy, said he was surprisingly calm.

“My nerves were good all day, I was really happy with that,” he said.