Herbert shifts to LIV mode and muscles into PGA mix

An eagle on seven thanks to a pinpoint approach was the highlight, Herbert otherwise shaking his head at missed putts and "loose" fairway options on a soggy riverside course.

"Feels weird to sit here and complain about shooting five under but here I am," he said.

"I'm in the tournament, don't know how far I'll be behind, but somewhere thereabouts."

Cameron Davis is one of the contenders at the Australian PGA Championship at Royal Queensland. (Jono Searle/AAP PHOTOS)

The $2 million tournament has been reduced to a three-round spectacle after torrential rain meant no play was possible on Friday.

It means the top half of the field who make the cut on Saturday will return for an 18-hole shootout for the prize on Sunday.

Herbert partnered Cameron Smith, Marc Leishman and Matt Jones in LIV - which means 54 in Roman numerals - in a nod to the three-day format teams title they won with Ripper GC this year.

"It's a decent change of mindset in a 54-hole event," he said.

"You play Thursday and you're six back and not paying too much attention.

"But all of a sudden you cancel the round and ... different story.

"I knew I had to shoot a pretty low one today. It sounds easy but it takes practice to get used to how aggressive you have to be in a three-round event, so there's probably a little bit of an advantage for us."

Elvis Smylie's six-under 65 was good enough for the outright lead but he's got company on a crowded leaderboard.

Three-time winner Cameron Smith birdied his first two holes to reach six-under in his marquee group with Jason Day (four under) and defending champion Min Woo Lee (three under). 

Marc Leishman (six-under) matched Smith's start while former US Open champion Geoff Ogilvy carded a 68 to be five under, but South African 20-year-old Aldrich Potgieter was the big mover. 

He burst out of the blocks with birdies on his opening three holes, just missing another birdie putt on the fourth, to pull clear of the field at seven-under.