The Wynnum Golf Club member sunk a nerveless 2m par putt on the final green at Pelican Waters in Saturday’s third round to lock in a one-stroke lead. 

There are 18 players within five strokes of the lead as the storied tournament heads to a climax overflowing with birdies and tests of temperament. 

Wood (68-68-65) has already reached the 15-under-par mark that Anthony Quayle posted to win last year’s event on the same course outside Caloundra. 

Quayle, still an outside chance to defend at 10-under, looks a good judge. Pre-tournament, he tipped 20-under as this week’s winning score and it has been endorsed by Sydney’s Andrew Evans. 

Evans (68-70-65) was the hottest player on course for 90 minutes with a streak of five straight birdies when he was rolling in putt after putt. 

“We’ve had four or five 65s today so someone is going to get to 20-under. It’s very bunched at the top so the winner could come from anywhere,” Evans said. 

Californian Derek Ackerman (68-69-65) and Newcastle’s Blake Windred (67-69-66) are the closest challengers one behind Wood. The leading trio will tee off as the final group at 10.50am (AEST). 

At 13-under is where the threat lies because Pelican Waters member Shae Wools-Cobb (71-67-65) will know the Sunday pin positions and best landing targets on the greens better than anyone. Evans sits beside him.  

Wood had seven birdies and no blemishes on the card and feels the belief he gained from his breakthrough win at last month’s Victorian PGA will help. 

“I’m going to draw back on that experience. Anyone can go out and shoot a low number here,” Wood, 30, said. 

“No one is safe out there so I’ve got to be aggressive and keep sinking the putts. I hope to do the members from Wynnum proud because I’ve always wanted to win my home state Open.” 

Windred slam-dunked a brilliant shot from the wet sand for eagle on the par five 17^th to catapult him up the leaderboard. 

“It’s a definitely a shot I practice a lot but I had a branch in my backswing,” Windred said. 

“It changed the way I executed the shot but I’m thankful because it played out real nice. I really needed that.” 

With just one bogey in 54 holes, he feels his game is in the right shape for his first title. 

Ackerman has played the full Aussie tour this year. He’s the lone American in the field but fluked one American supporter when he ordered his eggs benedict for breakfast at the Chill 89 Café at Golden Beach. 

Café boss Ken Ratcliffe, from Boston, became his one-man fan club on course. 

Sunshine Coast hope Wools-Cobb will bid to be a rare home course winner of the Queensland Open just as Greg Norman was at Royal Queensland in 1983. 

Comfort with being aggressive, familiarity and sure putting on these grainy greens will all be assets when the pressure builds in the final round. 

He’ll also be having a crack at the driveable fourth hole which will be set up at around 235m for Sunday thrills.   

“I’ve practiced that shot plenty of times. I’ll definitely be going for it,” Wools-Cobb said. 

“Being a member at Pelican Waters definitely makes me feel like I’ll be comfortable with the pin positions, know where to leave myself uphill putts and that feel for being aggressive when I should be. 

“Even when I hit a good drive I had mates in the crowd calling out ‘just go after it will ya’ so it’s nice to have the local support of friends and family.” 

Defending champion Quayle (68-70-68) is within striking range at 10-under but he will be cursing not being at least a shot closer to the lead. 

He hit a superb drive down the par five 17^th but a poor chip and a missed putt left him with a tame par. 

Tour veteran Scott Strange, 43, carded a fine seven-under 65 but the perfectionist was still calling his swing and putting “a work in progress.” 

He holed a nine iron from 142m out for eagle on the par four sixth after an average drive to go with six birdies. 

He’s played with plenty of gun amateurs over the years but was upbeat about the pro future one day for Australian Amateur champion Louis Dobbelaar, 19. 

“Louis could step into it tomorrow…but don’t tell him that. I know he’ll handle it but he’ll do it in his own time,” Strange said. 

Dobbelaar (73-68-66) hit all 18 greens in regulation and the best of his six birdies may have been getting up-and-down from the wet sand on the par five 17^th. He is handily placed at nine-under, one behind amateur Lawry Flynn (68-69-69). 

All he has to do is keep putting as well as he has for 33 holes…and avoid any huge Isuzu trucks that might again get in the way. 

Not even former world No.1 Jason Day made the cut at 15 at the Queensland Open in 2003 when he shot 76-79 at Ipswich Golf Club. 

Dowling’s one-under-par position is right on the cut line while five players sit atop a bunched leaderboard at eight-under at Pelican Waters. 

Veterans Michael Wright and Peter Wilson will be out early at 7.30am (AEST) on Saturday morning to complete their final two holes. 

Both share that eight-under perch with Newcastle’s Blake Windred (67-69), Victorian Bryden Macpherson (72-64) and Wynnum’s Chris Wood (68-68). 

Macpherson’s hot 64 included two eagles on par fives but it was the magnetic story of Dowling, in the last group, which had even seasoned pros willing him on. 

“How old…15!…how good is that?,” Wright, 47, said with delight. 

Wright has been a pro for 22 years, longer than Dowling has been alive. 

He was teaching schoolkids Dowling’s age last year as a relief teacher at two high schools to support his family when COVID cancelled golf tournaments.  

“The teaching saved us as a family. It’s given life some balance with golf as well,” Wright said. 

Dowling was sipping a Coke casually in the carpark with 13-year-old caddie Alfie Ward when he dissected his one-under position through 15 holes after his 72 on Thursday. 

His run in with the truck was on his ninth hole, the par four 18^th, where tournament sponsor Isuzu had one in a wide bunker for promotional purposes. 

“I hit a three wood off a tough uphill lie, it hit the top of the truck and bounced into the hazard,” Dowling said. 

He made an unfortunate bogey from the hazard but repaired things with clutch shots like a pin-rattling chip to save par one hole later. 

“I think I’m doing really well…just three more pars and I make the cut which has always been my aim,” the Helensvale State High schoolboy said. 

Wright was three-under for his second round. He did a fine job of keeping it that way in fading light on his 16th hole, a par five.

He found the trees off the tee, took a penalty stroke and hit a fine wedge and putt to save par with light fading.

Wilson was seven-under for his 16 holes after his opening round 71. Five straight birdies kickstarted things either side of the turn.

View the round two leaderboard at pga.org.au.

It may be a blink in time or a signal for the rest of a hectic Friday with some golfers in line for 27 holes to catch-up on Thursday’s rain-hit first round. 

Hoath birdied two of his final three holes early in the day to complete his first round as a fine four-under-par 68. 

He had a short break and was back out on the course to grab his eagle on the 500m par five first hole to reach six-under. 

Queensland’s Chris Wood (68) grabbed two early birdies in the second round to join him at the top at six-under through 22 holes. 

Their second round starts jumped them ahead of the four first round leaders who carded 67s…Queensland veteran Michael Wright, 2015 Queensland Open champion David Bransdon, in-form Victorian Andrew Martin and Newcastle’s Blake Windred. 

Defending champion Anthony Quayle predicted that 20-under would be a winning score this week and Friday’s early scoring suggested such a target is within range. 

NSW golfer Travis Smyth finished his opening round (68) and picked up an early second round birdie to get to five-under.  

Chuna’s Guxin Chen (69) moved to five-under as well with two second round birdies through seven holes. 

Sam Brazel’s fine par save with a long bunker shot from wet sand on his final hole for a morning 69 got him into contention.

Brilliant par save from the wet sand for @SamBrazelGolf on his closing hole for a quality 69 in Rd1 #QldOpen @PGAofAustralia pic.twitter.com/6WBkUSgfMg

— Isuzu #QldOpen (@GolfAustQLD) March 11, 2021

The six female players in the field were hanging tough with Stephanie Kyriacou and amateur Grace Kim carding 74s to open. 

Follow the live Queensland Open leaderboard at pga.org.au.

It was a remarkable show of focus from the Bendigo pro who would have been excused if he had a letdown round after waiting so long for his breakthrough tournament success. 

Instead, he carried the stellar form of his closing 61 to win The Players Series Sydney into a fine five-under-par 67 for the joint lead at Pelican Waters Golf Club. 

Queensland veteran Michael Wright, Newcastle’s Blake Windred, 2015 Queensland Open champion David Bransdon and young Pelican Waters amateur Justin Morley share the frontrunning on five-under with him. 

Caloundra amateur Chris Crabtree had a hot round going when five-under after eight holes but pulling his tee shot into trees on his 16^th hole for double bogey and a triple bogey from the trees on the last scuttled things.   

Half the field failed to finish their rounds because of a near-three hour play suspension on Thursday morning when a Queensland downpour saturated the course outside Caloundra. 

Morley will be one out early from 7am (AEST) on Friday to finish the final two holes of his opening round. He grabbed five birdies in 16 holes before the horn blew to bring in the wet brigade for the day. 

Martin had two safe pars behind him when rain forced the morning field off the course and he trundled to eight straight before his round exploded. 

He had a run of six birdies in eight holes and five in a row. There were no chip-ins this time just more solid ball-striking and putting.  

“I was a bit sluggish after the rain delay but five in a row does help,” the understated Martin said. 

He drained a superb 12m left-to-right putt that accounted for a fair bit of grain on the par three fifth, his 14^th hole of the day. 

Keeping his focus was easier than you’d expect. 

“We have NSW Open next week and a fair bit of time off after that so it’s knuckle down time when I’m playing good golf. I can enjoy things afterwards,” Martin said. 

Bransdon joked that he’s glad he can still play golf because he has no future as a home-school teacher for his youngest children James, 8, and Olivia, 11. 

“I did two lots of home-schooling for 10 weeks during the Victorian lockdown (for COVID) last year and I’m definitely better at golf,” he said. 

Bransdon clearly enjoys the positional golf and the strong iron play that Greg Norman-designed courses demand. He won this event at Norman’s Brookwater Golf and Country Club in 2015 and set the Pelican Waters course record of 63 in last year’s opening round. 

“I only took out driver four times. It’s a course that demands good iron play and that plays to my strength,” Bransdon said. 

Windred, 23, made his fifth and final birdie with a fine up-and-down from the compact wet sand in the bunker on the par five 17th. 

He hit a six iron to just over a metre on the fifth with “some of the heaviest rain I’ve played in coming down and a wet glove.”  

He had nearly three hours to dwell on that putt for his first birdie because he was called off course at that point. 

“I actually didn’t think about the putt so I just went out and…yeah, sunk it,” Windred said.  

“It can be a dark place mentally on rainy days like this when you don’t know what sort of play is going to be possible.  

“An egg and bacon McMuffin and a latte definitely helped during the rain break and some joking with the other guys. It felt like I was starting my round again.” 

Defending champion Anthony Quayle (68) had a composed round, Jake McLeod (70) felt his round was ragged and Dalby leftie Lawry Flynn (68) was best of the strong amateur contingent. 

Derek Ackerman, the sole American in the field, is four-under with one hole still to complete. He was upbeat but did give a sense of the difficulty with the ball flying two clubs less in heavy rain, cutting through the drizzle without issue and flying or not from the wet rough.

Steph Kyriacou, who started birdie-birdie, and young amateur Grace Kim both shot two-over 74 on a day when the sodden course played at its longest off the back tees.