Norris had five birdies, five bogeys, seven pars and his eagle on 13 in a round of 2-under 70, tied at top spot with playing partner Nicholas Robb (70) and Euan Walters (70).

Tied for 37th at The National Tournament presented by BMW, the final event of the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia season, Norris took pitching wedge at the 128-metre 13th, a shot that would ultimately elevate him into a three-way tie for the win.

“The hole-in-one was fantastic,” said Norris.

“I was actually all over the joint today. I had a lot of bogeys, a lot of birdies and then the ‘one’ to top it off.”

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HOW THE WINNING ROUNDS UNFOLDED
Paired together and starting from the fifth tee, the pattern of scoring was established early.

Norris went bogey-birdie-bogey-birdie-bogey-birdie over his first six holes, Robb going about things very differently.

Robb had the one birdie and 10 pars in his opening 11 holes but found himself two back when Norris followed a birdie at 12 with his hole-in-one on 13.

Back-to-back bogeys at 15 and 16 dropped Norris to 1-under on his round and with a one-stroke advantage over Robb.

A birdie on 18 saw Robb draw level, the pair closing out their rounds with matching birdies at the par-5 fourth.

With bogeys at two and three Walters found himself on the back foot early. He birdied four and seven to get back to 1-over but climbed into contention with three birdies in the space of five holes to start the back nine.

WHAT THE WINNERS SAID

Jason Norris: “It was a good day and a good group with Nicholas and a couple of the sponsors from Ray White.

Euan Walters: “We did use to play here a lot in the South Australian Pro-Am circuit so I know the course pretty well.

“It is pretty tight but you do get rewarded for good shots so it’s great to be back here.

“I love this place and I love playing golf in South Australia.”

Nicholas Robb: “It’s great to play with a quality player like Jason. I saw the draw and I was really pleased to see that I was playing with him.

“We know each other from a long way back and when you’re playing with a top-level player like Jase, it certainly helps you to focus a little bit more.

“I just tried to stay calm on the golf course and play the shots the best I could. Two-under and it worked out, which was quite a nice surprise.”

LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
T1        Jason Norris                 70
T1        Nicholas Robb             70
T1        Euan Walters                70
T4        Adam Henwood          71
T4        Michael Long               71
T4        Paul Powell                   71
7          Mark Boulton               72

NEXT UP
It will be an emotional day for those on the PGA Legends Tour at Thaxted Park Golf Course on Friday with the first Metro Homes Glenn Joyner Memorial Legends Pro-Am since the passing of Glenn Joyner last August.