Vilips closed his round exceptionally strongly, starting off steadily with five consecutive pars before adding ten birdies and a bogey to the remainder of his 18 holes and finishing on nine-under.
It was the 25-year-old's best round of 2026 and leaves him well placed to potentially challenge for his best finish of the season, currently a T13 finish at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans in late April.
The highlight of his round was a 151-yard bunker shot on the ninth hole that left him with a 20-foot putt, successfully converted for a birdie despite his drive finding the sand to the right of the fairway.
Vilips is the eighth-highest ranked Australian on the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) standings at 232 and is 141st on the PGA Order of Merit with US$653,000 (AU$929,000) in prizemoney earned this year.
That would usually put him in jeopardy to retain his Tour card after the PGA decided to offer full exemptions for the 2027 season to the top-100 instead of the top-125, but Vilips' only career PGA title win - which came in Puerto Rico last year during his debut campaign - has awarded him a two-year exemption that expires at the conclusion of 2027.
World number 28 American Ben Griffin remains the favourite to win the tournament after he carded a seven-under 64.
"I had it on a string for the first nine," Vilips said after his round.
"I got a little loose in the middle and got it back on course toward the end of the round.
"It was lift, clean and place today so being in the fairway was a must for me and I took advantage of those drives that I hit."
Aaron Murphy has been with Flashscore since 2018 and, as the founding editor of the Australian newsdesk, has reported on-site at several major events in Melbourne including the Australian Open, State of Origin, A-League, NBL and international cricket. You can read his pieces here and contact him on X or LinkedIn.
