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The final round of the inaugural Players Series at Rosebud Country Club is underway, where 2020 NZ Open champion Brad Kennedy leads by two strokes over Nathan Barbieri. Click here for live scores.
A harsh lesson and a holed bunker shot for eagle has enabled rookie professional Nathan Barbieri to smash the course record and take a three-stroke lead midway through the opening round of The Players Series Hosted by Geoff Ogilvy at Rosebud Country Club.
On an ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia leaderboard boasting winners on the US PGA Tour, European Tour, Japan Golf Tour, Asian Tour and China Golf Tour within the first dozen, Barbieri’s scintillating 10-under 61 not only set a new personal best but obliterated Rosebud’s previous course record of 64.
Host Geoff Ogilvy is the closest challenger after opening the tournament bearing his name with a 7-under 64, one shot ahead of Matias Sanchez at 6-under and with a two-shot gap to Matthew Griffin and Aaron Pike at 5-under as the afternoon groups take to the course.
An eagle at the par-5 ninth – her final hole of the day – elevated LPGA of Japan Tour player Karis Davidson into a tie for 11th and the leading female player in the field in the innovative format that pits men and women directly against each other.
Male or female, no one could match the pace set by Barbieri as he began his round with three straight birdies and then holed his greenside bunker shot at the par-5 ninth to make the turn in just 29 strokes.
A week ago Barbieri was 5-under through his opening six holes at the Gippsland Super 6 tournament and admitted that counting birdies was a habit he made sure to break on Thursday.
.@rosebudccgolf course record 61 for Nathan Barbieri 👏
— #ThePlayersSeries (@PGAofAustralia) January 28, 2021
Brilliant stuff in difficult windy conditions with gusts of up to 60km/h 💨#ThePlayersSeries #PGAProud pic.twitter.com/55DjHeWEJ1
“I definitely got ahead of myself last week,” Barbieri conceded. “Just counting the birdies I’d had and wondering what I was through the amount of holes.
“Every time I thought of that today I had to erase everything and tell myself to start again.
“It was near to perfect golf. Obviously starting well last week gave me a bit of confidence coming in. It was a good day.”
With winds gusting to more than 50km/h at times the Rosebud layout was by no means benign, Ogilvy surprised by his own score of 64 let alone Barbieri’s record-setting round up front.
“I didn’t see that out there. I didn’t see what I shot out there so 61… That’s a great score,” said Ogilvy, whose round consisted of eight birdies and a lone bogey at the par-3 seventh.
“I putted really well and made a lot of putts so he must have done the same.”
Ogilvy played alongside LPGA Tour player Su Oh in the opening round and although Oh finished her round at 2-over 73, the 2006 US Open champion and active course design enthusiast thought the course set-up was fair to both guys and girls.
“Obviously I was an interested observer as to where she was hitting hit relative to me and Elvis (Smylie) and it seemed about right,” Ogilvy added.
“It was a brutal day. She just had a few lip-outs, which happens. She played a few shots better than the score showed.
“As far as I can tell, to this point, I think the balance is pretty good.
“It was really, really windy, but they were smart in that they didn’t cut the greens and they didn’t roll the greens.
“We would have had issues if we’d had the greens a bit faster. But they played fine, it was all fair and it was there if you hit good shots.”
Karis Davidson suffered some bad breaks as she dropped three shots late in her round but climbed towards the top 10 courtesy of an eagle on her final hole, the par-5 ninth. Her 2-under 69 places her tied for 11th in her first four-round tournament in 12 months.
“I had a couple of little unlucky things happen a few holes before so it was nice to get rewarded on that last hole,” said Davidson, who made double bogey on five after her ball finished beside a tree root and a bogey on six when her approach shot hit the flag and ricocheted off the green.
“It was into the wind and I pumped driver right down the middle and had about 180 metres into the green, which would have been playing around 200 with the wind.
“I hit a 3-wood and it was just hunting the pin. It was a perfect shot and got up there and it was on the green.
“It was quite a tricky putt. It was downhill and I absolutely nailed it.
“I’m really pleased but it’s only round one so I’ve just got to keep my feet on the ground and focus on tomorrow.”
Marcus Fraser has won the #GippslandSuper6 with a final match victory over Alessandro Noseda at Yallourn Golf Club.
Fraser got off to the perfect start in the final match, birdieing the first to take the advantage.
Noseda then dropped a shot on the par-3 2nd hole – normally the 8th – to give Fraser a two-stroke advantage.
Noseda recovered a shot with a birdie at the fourth to reduce Fraser’s lead to one.
Par each through the fifth meant it came down to the sixth and final hole.
Brilliant play from Fraser saw him get to the green in two with the ball landing just three meters from the pin.
Fraser holed the putt to be crowned the #GippslandSuper6 champion.
More to come from Yallourn Golf Club.
Marcus Fraser wins the #GippslandSuper6!
— #GippslandSuper6 (@PGAofAustralia) January 24, 2021
He scores a birdie on the last to win by two over Alessandro Noseda 👏
Congratulations to Frase and all of our players this week. Brilliant effort from all ⛳️#PGATA pic.twitter.com/w1FOox6mvL
He’s led since day one but No.1 seed Deyen Lawson has declared that any of the 24 qualifiers are capable of walking away as champion as the Gippsland Super 6 moves into the match play phase on Sunday.
The top eight qualifiers through 54 holes of stroke play have earned a direct path through to round two and the final 16 with Blake Windred and Brett Rankin securing a spot in the top eight in a playoff that consigned Bryden Macpherson to ninth spot.
Macpherson and the remaining qualifiers now need to win five six-hole matches to take the title with Justin Warren, Michael Wright, Cory Crawford, David Bransdon and Rick Kulacz having to make their way past a seven-for-five playoff to qualify for the match play.
Rather than traditional match play, each match will be played as a six-hole aggregate stroke match across the first, eight, second, 16th, 17th and 18th holes at Yallourn Golf Club and Lawson knows given the quality in the field it is now well and truly anyone’s tournament to win.
“The guys who played just OK today and scraped into the 24, they’re going into tomorrow feeling like they’re starting again,” said Lawson.
“Any of the 24 guys now could win, where if it was over four rounds there are probably only three or four guys who could win.
“If I was the guy in 24th spot I’d be feeling bloody great. I’ve just snuck in, let’s start again. The guy who has finished eighth is probably feeling the best. He’s four back but he’s now in the exact same position as me.
“It’s exciting for anyone watching tomorrow because genuinely anyone can win.”
One of those danger players is prolific PGA Pro-Am Series winner Tim Hart, who along with Kiwi Daniel Hillier equalled the course record set by Lawson in round one of 8-under 64 on Saturday.
Five times a top-five finisher in ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia events, the Queenslander couldn’t deny the significance of a potential breakthrough win and how he intends to go about it.
“It’s going to be foot to the floor and try and make as many birdies as I can,” said Hart, who faces a tough assignment first-up against Japan Golf Tour regular David Bransdon.
“(Winning) is definitely something that’s on my mind. I won’t let it consume my mind but it’s definitely there.
“I’ve got to get through the first few rounds to even start thinking about that sort of stuff.
“It’s definitely a course and a format that I feel pretty comfortable in. I like my chances tomorrow to make a run.”
Perhaps the only player in the final 24 who knows exactly what to expect heading into tomorrow’s final round is New Zealand’s Daniel Hillier.
Tied for third at the completion of the stroke play, Hillier can now call upon his experience of winning the Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Super 6’s at Manawatu Golf Club in March last year.
“We just brought the same format in back home in New Zealand which I managed to play quite well at,” said Hillier, who will play the winner of the Chang Gi Lee v Dimi Papadatos match.
“I’ll take the same approach that I’ve had all week. Relatively aggressive. Nothing stupid but enough to give me some really good chances if I’m hitting the ball well off the tee.
“Keep doing that and then hopefully if I shoot well I’ll be in that final match.”
Twice a starter in the WGC-World Match Play in 2013 and 2016, Marcus Fraser also secured a bye in the first round with a round of 6-under 66 on Saturday and knows that a conservative approach won’t cut it on Sunday.
“You’re going to have to be aggressive. Over six holes, if you try and play cautiously at some point it’s going to catch you out,” Fraser said, headed for a showdown with either Andrew Martin or Cory Crawford in round two.
“You’re going to have to be aggressive and even if you’re out of position try and salvage a par somehow and limit the damage. If you make a double bogey in six holes you’re pretty much gone I’d think.
“There’s going to be a bit of strategy to it but you’re going to have to be aggressive for sure.”
A three-time winner on the China Golf Tour in 2019, Queensland’s Maverick Antcliff looked an unlikely qualifier early in his third round but played his final nine holes in 6-under 30 to qualify 11th and remain in the hunt.
“Match play is totally different,” said Antcliff following his 7-under 65, drawn to play wily veteran Michael Wright in round one.
“If you can hit fairways and greens and apply pressure, obviously if they hit a few loose ones or they’re out of position it gets a little bit trickier with the greens being hard and fast. Just applying pressure through good golf and take it from there.
“You can make a lot of birdies out here so there should be some good matches. All of these guys are good players so you’ve just got to beat whoever is in front of you to make the final.”
Two-time World Match Play champion Geoff Ogilvy failed to advance after a 2-over 74 on Saturday with Blitz Golf Glenelg winner Matthew Millar, Champions Tour regular David McKenzie and defending champion Tom Power Horan also falling just short.
Round 1 matches AEDT
Match 1 (7.15am) Daniel Gale v Charlie Dann
Match 2 (7.23am) Bryden Macpherson v Rick Kulacz
Match 3 (7.31am) Andrew Martin v Cory Crawford
Match 4 (7.39am) Josh Younger v Justin Warren
Match 5 (7.47am) Chang Gi Lee v Dimitrios Papadatos
Match 6 (7.55am) Maverick Antcliff v Michael Wright
Match 7 (8.03am) Tim Hart v David Bransdon
Match 8 (8.11am) Alessandro Noseda v Ben Eccles
Round 2 matches
Match 9 (9.05am) Deyen Lawson v Winner of Match 1
Match 10 (9.15am) Blake Windred v Winner of Match 2
Match 11 (9.25am) Marcus Fraser v Winner of Match 3
Match 12 (9.35am) Terry Pilkadaris v Winner of Match 4
Match 13 (9.45am) Daniel Hillier v Winner of Match 5
Match 14 (9.55am) Peter Cooke v Winner of Match 6
Match 15 (10.05am) Brett Rankin v Winner of Match 7
Match 16 (10.15am) Jason Norris v Winner of Match 8
Some of Australia’s most prominent golfing stars will be looking to fight their way into the top 24 of the #GippslandSuper6 standings on moving day as the third round gets underway at Yallourn Golf Club.
Sunday’s knockout match play section will see scores from the first three rounds put to the side and the leaderboard reset but a spot in the top eight at the conclusion of today’s play will earn its player a bye in the first round of matches.
Backing up his course record 8-under 64 with a 2-under 70 on Friday morning, Deyen Lawson starts the third round with the outright lead at 10-under par, two shots clear of New South Welshman Dimi Papadatos with another two-shot gap back to a group of four players tied at 6-under par.
U.S. Open winner Geoff Ogilvy has started the third round eight strokes behind Lawson at 2-under with the primary objective now to ensure he is within the top 24 on Saturday evening having navigated his way past the first cut.
Four-over through his opening nine holes on Thursday, Ogilvy recovered to shoot 72 in his first round and followed it up with a 2-under 70 on Friday to be tied for 27th.
“Clearly the job for the first three days is to make the match play,” said Ogilvy after his round, his WGC-Match Play wins coming in 2006 and 2009.
“And then the further up you can get you get that bye in the first round which would be a big advantage too.
“The match play’s the key. You can’t win the tournament if you don’t make it and if you do make the match play you can win the tournament.
“It’s a strange tournament like that. Normally you’d be eight back and thinking you’ve got a long way to go on the weekend but I’ve just got to make sure I get in the match play tomorrow and then anything can happen over six-hole matches.”
The leading group of Deyen Lawson, Dimi Papadatos and Peter Cooke will tee off from the first tee at 10:45am AEDT.
Follow live scores from Yallourn Golf Club at pga.org.au.
Gold Coast-based professional Deyen Lawson is eyeing off a first-round bye in Sunday’s match play section after backing up his course record 64 on Thursday with a 2-under 70 to maintain a two-shot lead at the Gippsland Super 6 on Friday morning.
Challengers came and went as the morning round on day two delivered equal measure of red numbers and stumbles.
Starting the second round two shots back of Lawson, Dimi Papadatos rose to a share of the lead at 10-under on the back of his fifth birdie of the day but struck trouble on the par-4 fourth hole, dropping two shots on his way to a 2-under 70 to be two back and outright second, two shots clear of Peter Cooke and Charlie Dann.
Cooke moved into a strong position until a double-bogey at the par-4 18th turned a second consecutive 68 into a 70 for a 6-under total at the halfway mark while Queenslander Dann got to 9-under before a run of three consecutive bogeys from the sixth hole led to a second straight round of 3-under 69 to sit four back.
In trickier wind conditions than he experienced during the first round, Lawson was pleased to again finish under par despite not matching the quality of ball-striking on display on day one.
“I wasn’t playing great but I managed to get a score and give myself some chances,” Lawson said post-round.
“Even if I’d rolled a few more putts in I could have gone a bit lower not hitting it great so that was a good sign.
“The top eight are exempt through the first round of the match play so I’d say that’s the goal that everyone’s looking at.
“At the same time, I’m trying to have a mindset of no matter what tournament it is, what round it is or how I’m going, just hit each shot as good as I can and not thinking about any outside influences.
“When you’re walking around you can think about stuff like that but if your routine and your process is really good it’s just another shot.
“It’s almost impossible to not think about some things but the better I can do it the easier it will get.”
The most significant move of the morning however came from an unlikely source, 18-year-old local amateur Levi Sclater.
Winner of the Tasmanian Junior Masters 12 months ago, Sclater received an invitation into the tournament after finishing as the leading qualifier at the Gippsland Super 6 Amateur event at Warragul Country Club in late December.
Following up an opening round of 1-under 71 with a 3-under 69 to sit in a tie for ninth, Sclater is well placed to be one of the 24 players who qualify for Sunday’s match play section having achieved his initial goal of making the two-round cut.
“I wanted to make the first cut for sure but I just thought I’d see how I go,” said Sclater, who dropped shots at both 17 and 18 to close out his round.
“If I’m going all right then the goal is now to make the second cut.
“I was a bit nervous on the 10th hole – my first hole – in the first round but once I got going and made a couple of birdies it was pretty good.
“Today was the same. I was less nervous on the first hole today. It took me a few holes and then I made three birdies in a row and that kick-started me for the day.”
As the afternoon groups begin their second rounds the cut-line is sitting at even par, prominent players such as Geoff Ogilvy (E), David McKenzie (E), Jake Higginbottom (+1) and Daniel Fox (+1) in need of good rounds to progress through to the third round.
They dropped three shots between them on their final hole but Victorian pair Ben Eccles and Marcus Fraser share the lead midway through the opening round of the Gippsland Super 6 at Yallourn Golf Club.
The first ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia event since the NT PGA Championship in October, a stellar list of Australian golfers flooded the leaderboard in the morning wave but it seemed no one would keep pace with Eccles until disaster struck late.
Six birdies and an eagle had given Eccles a handy two-shot buffer from Fraser and Peter Wilson until a double-bogey six on the par-4 ninth gave lunch a bitter taste.
Starting from the 10th tee, Eccles made the turn in 2-under and then caught fire, rattling off three birdies in succession from the par-5 first and establishing a two-shot gap to the rest of the field with an eagle at the par-5 fifth hole.
He looked certain to set an imposing target for the afternoon groups until a wayward tee shot and lost ball turned a two-shot advantage into a share of the lead at 5-under 67.
“I hit one really bad shot for the day and it was on that tee box. The rest of the day was really good,” said Eccles, who gained his Asian Tour card at the start of 2020.
“I snap-hooked a driver into the rubbish on the left and made a par with the second ball.
“I didn’t hit many really close today, I holed some putts that I didn’t expect to hole and I built on it.
“Then I got to the fifth and hit two really, really nice shots into there and made the eagle and I was 7-under and thinking, This is really nice.
“I hit 2-iron off the tee up the hill which left me 212 metres to the flag and I hit 4-iron to 6-8 feet. That was probably the best shot I hit all day. That was really nice that one.”
Fraser too found trouble on the 328-metre ninth hole when he was unable to find his first tee shot but made birdie with his second ball to also open with a 67.
“I thought was perfect when I hit it and then got up there and couldn’t find it,” Fraser said of his final hole misfortune.
“I hit another one that was about two yards to the right of the first one and it was in the first cut of rough, hit it on and made the putt.
“I don’t know what happened to the first one but it was gone.”
Having recently begun the PGA Bridging program at Peninsula Kingswood Golf Club, Fraser’s preparation has consisted predominantly of helping to improve the games of others rather than sharpening his own.
“It was a bit of the unknown really,” Fraser said of his return to tournament golf.
“I played the pro-ams last week to try and have a hit-out before playing some four-rounders but before that I hadn’t really done a hell of a lot.
“There hasn’t been too much of my golf, I’ve been teaching some other people how to do it.
“I chipped in for eagle at the fifth but apart from that it was all pretty steady.”
Peter Wilson is tied for fourth at 4-under thanks in no small part to an eagle on his very first hole while defending champion Tom Power Horan is one of 11 players currently in a tie for seventh at 3-under par, left to lament some untidy bogeys and missed opportunities in his round of 69 that featured seven birdies, four bogeys and seven pars.
“I made some poor bogeys. I played quite well the front nine and then a couple of soft bogeys,” Power Horan explained.
“I feel like I should have been a few better to be honest but I’ll take it.
“It’s nice to play well because it gives you confidence but to be honest it’s a little bit annoying. If it was two shots better it makes the next two rounds a little bit easier.
“I don’t think I quite capitalised on how well I played.”
The inaugural event in 2019 was heavily disrupted by rain and Power Horan says they have been presented with a much different test this time around in warm conditions.
“It’s much, much firmer and the wind direction is the total opposite,” said Power Horan, who won in 54 holes of stroke play in November 2019.
“Some of the holes that were the tougher ones last time are probably the easier holes and vice versa.
“It makes it a good challenge but it’s definitely there to be had. It wouldn’t surprise me to see someone shoot a really good score.
“If you drive the ball well there’s plenty of opportunities.”
The early leaders are already under fire from the afternoon groups with newly minted Sydney professional Nathan Barbieri racing to 5-under through his opening six holes with fellow Sydneysider Dimi Papadatos also quick out of the blocks, 4-under through 5.
Follow live scores from the Gippsland Super 6 at pga.org.au.
Round one of the Gippsland Super 6 is underway at Yallourn Golf Club with first groups teeing off at 7:30am AEDT.
Reigning champion Tom Power Horan tees off alongside Rick Kulacz and James Marchesani at 7:50am in cool morning conditions with temperatures expected to reach a height of 31 degrees by 3pm.
Japan Tour regular Matthew Griffin will begin his first round of tournament golf since early 2020 alongside Michael Hendry of New Zealand and 2020 Queensland Open champion Anthony Quayle at 8am from the 10th tee.
The marquee group of Marcus Fraser, Geoff Ogilvy and former Essendon and St Kilda footballer Brendon Goddard will tee off at 8:10am from the 10th.
Keep an eye on these groups when play tees off at the #GippslandSuper6 tomorrow 👀⛳️
— #GippslandSuper6 (@PGAofAustralia) January 20, 2021
Round 1 tee times 👉 https://t.co/Vr3OZ3MbmD#PGATA #PGAProud pic.twitter.com/b0zi9kGs3W
View tee times for round one at pga.org.au.
View live scores from the Gippsland Super 6 at pga.org.au.
Adam Scott will commence 2021 desperate to make up for lost time after a schedule decimated by the coronavirus pandemic and his own two-week COVID-19 quarantine turned last year from one of great promise to one of lost opportunities.
Scott returns to the Plantation Course at the Kapalua Resort on the island of Maui in Hawaii for the first time since 2014, his victory at the Genesis Invitational last February securing his spot alongside fellow Aussies Cameron Smith (Sony Open) and Marc Leishman (Farmers Insurance Open).
The two-shot win at Riviera Country Club almost a year ago was Scott’s first PGA TOUR start for 2020 and signalled a strong intent to contend for a second green jacket at The Masters.
The suspension of the season due to COVID-19, an extended stint at home in Australia, the reshuffled schedule of Majors and FedEx Cup playoff events and his own run-in with COVID-19 threw Scott off kilter, failing to finish inside the top 20 in any of the eight events he played following the resumption.
If turning 40 last July wasn’t enough of a reminder that time is of the essence, Scott enters 2021 determined to maximise the time he has to work on his game in the current climate and adapt better to the situation every player currently finds themselves in.
“I have to figure out a way to get it done,” said Scott, a runner up in this event in 2007 behind Vijay Singh.
“Even under these difficult circumstances, if I’m going to come out and play I want to come out and contend and not just make up numbers. Otherwise, I would rather not play.
“If I’m out here playing, I want to make the most of it. Who knows, my time is becoming less and less, that’s for sure, so I would like to contend a little more and win a little more before my time’s up.
“You kind of have to have a plan, but not everything is up to me, determined by me. Things are changing. Even just getting here, the parameters changed like three times in the weeks leading up to coming to Hawaii.
“So I have to be a bit flexible, but I think you’ve just really got to be on top of things at all times so nothing falls off the pace in any area of your game or in what you need to do to be at the top because there might not be that opportunity to work to get it back.
“I’m trying to just stay on top of everything and also be a little flexible with my attitude, not get annoyed when things are a bit more difficult and just take it for what it is. Getting time to see my coach outside of a TOUR event, and training and treatment and things like that.
“If you’re not based in the same place at the moment, it’s very, very difficult to actually get together. The UK’s just locked down again. My coach lives there. I know other guys have that too, but it is challenging. So just trying to manage things a little bit better.
“I played OK at the end of last year, but not up to the standard I want to play if I’m out here doing it.
“Trying to do a little bit better job of that from this point on.”
Unlikely to return to Australia until the end of the year, Scott is eyeing off both The Players Championship and The Masters as early targets to add to a world-class resume that boasts 31 tournament wins including the 2013 Masters, 2003 Players and two World Golf Championship titles.
The highest-ranked Australian currently at No.21 in the world, Scott didn’t rule out making space in his schedule for a tilt at a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics, providing they can go ahead as planned a week after his 41st birthday on July 23.
“I would consider playing,” admitted Scott, who declined the opportunity to play in Rio de Janiero in 2016.
“It’s still not my priority for the year, that’s for sure, but I wouldn’t rule it out.
“You can never really say never, but it will certainly be something I’ll look at.
“Who knows where we are in the summertime.”
As for his return to Hawaii that comes with an added bonus of time to indulge his passion for surfing, Scott conceded that there are few better ways to start the year.
“It has been an event I’ve loved coming to for so many years. But then for a while it was a tricky one to get back to,” said Scott.
“Every time I missed it I regretted it but it was off the back of playing in Australia and being the first week of the year made it a very short holiday season for me.
“Once I won in Genesis it was definitely a priority for me to put this event on the schedule.
“It’s a great way to start the year. Even under these circumstances it’s nice to be here. And for me, at this moment, I need to kind of start putting some good results on the board and get my FedEx Cup campaign going a bit.”
Round 1 tee times (AEDT)
PGA TOUR
Sentry Tournament of Champions
Kapalua Resort (Plantation Course), Maui, Hawaii
7am Adam Scott, Jason Kokrak
7.20am Marc Leishman, Billy Horschel
7.50am Cameron Smith, Kevin Kisner
Defending champion: Justin Thomas
Past Aussie champions: Steve Elkington (1992, 1995), Stuart Appleby (2004, 2005, 2006), Geoff Ogilvy (2009, 2010)
Top Aussie prediction: Marc Leishman
TV times: Live 10am-2pm Friday, Saturday and Sunday; Live 8am-12pm Monday on Fox Sports 503.
Anthony Quayle has added his name to an impressive honour roll, walking away with the Geoff King Motors North Coast Open by four shots.
The Queenslander carded a 3-under-par 67 to go with his open round course record 63 at Coffs Harbour Golf Club for a two-round total of 10-under.
Victorian Deyen Lawson finished in outright second place at 6-under, while Marcus Fraser and Matthew Millar shared third place a further shot back at 5-under.
After starting the final round with a share of the lead alongside Lawson, the tournament soon became an open affair when Quayle made a double on the third to gift Lawson an early lead.
It didn’t take long for the Queenslander to recover, and birdies on the par-five 6th and par-three 8th, were enough for the eventual champ to turn for home with his lead intact.
With the skies threatening to open up at any time and birdies hard to come by, it appeared the Coffs Harbour course was going to get the better of the field.
It was Quayle’s day, however, and when he turned for home, the fireworks began.
Birdies on the 11 and 13th stretched his lead to four, and when Quayle rifled his second shot to the par-five 14th, a nine iron from 157 metres to four feet, the lead was six, and the tournament was as good as over.
A bogey on the 16th was soon erased with a birdie on the next, and with a comfortable five-shot lead walking up the last, Quayle’s second bogey of the day meant the finish was all academic in the end.
“I felt really good going into today and into this event to be honest,” Quayle said after the win.
“I played pretty nice really. I made a double on our third, and I didn’t hole a lot of putts early, but got hot midway through the round, and started to hole a lot.
“Apart from the double I think I played pretty flawless golf.”
While Quayle was thrilled with the win, his second in 2020, he added he was just glad to be back playing competition golf again, adding that the forced break from competition had helped him re-assess some of life’s priorities.
“The break (COVID) has given me a new outlook on how I approach the game,” he said.
“I’ve played since I was seven, and I don’t think I have ever had longer than a three-week break since.
“It’s your life, and over this stretch here I’ve gained a little bit of perspective that while golf is important, it’s not everything.”
“It’s allowed me to be a little more fatalistic. If it goes my way, it goes my way. If it doesn’t, it doesn’t.”
Although new to the schedule in 2020, the North Coast Open has an honour roll which includes the names some of the greats of the game, including Gary Player, Kel Nagle, Norman Von Nida, Bruce Crampton and Bill Dunk.
Quayle was thrilled to know his name would be alongside theirs.
“This is cool, Very cool,” he smiled.
“You grow up watching those guys, seeing what they do, and think it is almost unattainable.
“Then to be able to see my name on the same trophy as them is pretty special.”
For their efforts, Canberra’s Matthew Millar, Queensland’s Kade Mc Bride and Ballina’s Jay Mackenzie have secured their place in the field for the $400,000 NSW Open at Concord Golf Club from 25th -28th March 2021.
View the final North Coast Open leaderboard at pga.org.au.
Images: David Teases, GolfNSW
