An adidas PGA Pro-Am Series winner with wife Danni Vasquez on the bag at Portsea in January, Boyd had to conjure something special of his own to match Lyras’s score of 6-under 64.

Playing in the group behind Lyras in the afternoon wave, Boyd trailed by one as Lyras played the par-3 16th.

Last week’s winner at the Lexus Townsville Classic, Lyras hit his tee shot long of the green, took a free drop from the pump house and then chipped down to the front edge.

From there he chipped in for par which provided the momentum he needed for a final birdie at the par-5 17th.

Measuring 160 metres, Boyd gave himself a birdie look from 15 feet and converted from range for the first time in his round.

“I never looked like making a bogey all day, but I didn’t really hole any putts until I saw John Lyras in front of me on 16,” said Boyd.

“He chipped in for par and I hit it to about 10 or 15 feet and was able to roll that one in.

“That was a nice little momentum shift when I thought it had gone against me, to roll that one in.

“That felt really nice.”

Lyas and Boyd finished two shots clear of reigning Order of Merit winner Andrew Campbell, James Mee and Dylan Gardner while Danni’s tie for sixth at 3-under 67 made it a profitable day for the Boyd-Vasquez household.

HOW THE WINNING ROUNDS UNFOLDED

On the back of his brilliant breakthrough at Townsville a week earlier, Lyras was forced to keep pace with playing partner Andrew Campbell early in the round.

At 4-under through eight holes, Campbell held a one-stroke advantage, a buffer that doubled when Lyras dropped a shot at the par-3 ninth.

Campbell made bogey himself at the par-4 10th before Lyras put the foot down, making four birdies and a bogey in his next five holes.

As Lyras and Campbell engaged in a shootout in the group ahead, Boyd patiently waited to take his opportunities.

He made birdie at each of the four par-5s along with one at the par-4 10th and, finally, the birdie on 16 that would match Lyras’s 64.

WHAT THE WINNERS SAID

John Lyras: “I missed the ball in predominantly the right spots and made a few putts. Played the par 5s pretty well and you really need to do that here. And there’s a few other good opportunities and with some short par 3s as well that you need to really hit the middle of the green. I felt like I did a really good job missing the ball on the right side, not missing the fairway on the wrong side as well. And when you can do that, you generally open up the hole pretty well.”

Darcy Boyd: “I was sort of watching the leaderboard all day and knew I had some work to do coming in. I couldn’t really get anything going and I needed to hole about a seven-footer for par on about my fifth-last hole. I was able to do that and then kicked on from there. Made that nice 15-footer on the third-last hole when I watched Johnny chip in for par when I thought I was going to get one back on him there.”

LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
T1        John Lyras                    64
T1        Darcy Boyd                  64
T3        Andrew Campbell        66
T3        James Mee                   66
T3        Dylan Gardner              66
T6        Samuel Slater               67
T6        Connor McDade          67
T6        Danni Vasquez             67

NEXT UP

The North Queensland Series begins on Saturday with the two-day CMR Recycling Sarina Golf Club Pro-Am at Sarina Golf Club where Andrew Campbell is the defending champion.