Along with Michael Ormandy (69), Daniel Perham (70), Brandon Hodgson (71) and Jeremy Hall (72), Croudis (Otago) will go forward to the final qualifying event at Cromwell on March 7.
With 24 golfers trying to qualify, the Balmacewen event was allotted five places and Hall (Greenacres) tied with his clubmate, Andrew Drummond, on 72.
Hall made a par 4 on the playoff hole while Drummond struggled, taking five shots to get on the putting surface.
Croudis bogeyed the second hole but returned to square with a birdie 3 on the fourth hole.
He made an assault on par on the back nine with birdies at 10 and 12 before bogeying the par-4 14th.
He finished strongly with birdies at 16 and 18 to come home in a 3-under 32.
Newly appointed New Zealand men's selector Michael Ormandy (St Clair) found himself 3-under par after the first four holes with birdies on 1, 3 and 4. He lost a shot to par on the fifth to turn 2-under but went 3-under again with a birdie 3 on the 10th Monastery hole.
He parred seven of the next eight holes with his only blemish a bogey 5 on the 16th hole.
Perham (Highfield) turned two over after posting eight pars and a disastrous double bogey 6 on the 279m eighth.
But the Timaru golfer made four birdies coming home to finish one under and take the third qualifying spot.
Otago No2 Brandon Hodgson turned 1-over and went two behind par with a bogey 5 on the 10th hole.
He bogeyed the first two holes on the homeward nine to go 3-over but made an eagle 2 at 16 and a birdie 3 on the next hole for his par 71.
