Andrew Martin (18-under, 61)

On the impact of the eagle at the third hole

“I think I felt it was a bit of a bonus. It didn’t leave the flag – I hit a good shot – and I’d only hit nine shots to then and it was feeling pretty good. To play that shot was a bonus and to get through the first six holes at better than even par was a bit of a bonus. I probably felt that I had a couple up my sleeve at that point.”

On how he felt after chip-in at nine

“I was a little bit embarrassed. To be honest, I said walking down 10 that every shot for the eagles were awesome shots, just didn’t miss. They were exactly how I wanted to play all of them. It was a good thing for it to go in.”

On when he considered himself a chance of winning

“After eight when I chipped in there I thought, I’ve got to be close. There are a lot of scoring holes and Charlie has been playing quite good up until today so I just wanted to shoot a good score to be honest. Try and jump up the leaderboard and four eagles obviously helped that. After I holed the putt on 11 I thought I must have been right up there. Without having scorecards you don’t have it there to look at every time you open your yardage book and see your score. I was putting the scores in after each hole and putting my phone back in my bag. You can click the lederboard on your phone too but I decided to just keep doing what I was doing and then sign the screen when I got in.”

On birdie at the 72nd hole

“It was a bit more icing on the cake for the one on 18 to drop. I had 126 in and there was a tree slightly in my way for the shot that I like to see in there. The wind was into off the right so I hit a little 8-iron and tried to ride it in there with the wind. I thought I might have left it a little too far right but the wind brought it back for me which was good and then I had 12 feet for birdie.”

On leading into the final round of the 2019 Thailand Open and finishing tied for fourth

“I got off to a slow start with that one and when you’re leading going into the last round you know you’re dropping away from the leaders. Thailand got away from me a little bit but I thought I played the last four holes quite well, it just wasn’t my day. They say that when an opportunity comes you’ve got to take it so in that sense it was a little disappointing whereas this one I was able to take my opportunity.”

On any difficult times the past 15 years

“2015 was probably an average year where I didn’t have a great year and then ’16 I just had the pro-am status. But I still had the love for the game. I made a couple of equipment changes and then started to see what I wanted to see in terms of ball-flight. I’ve never really fallen out of love with the game. I’ve always wanted to do it and if I was ever going to stop playing it would be a hard pill to swallow because I still feel there is a lot I want to achieve. This is one little box ticked but there a couple more I want to do. It’s just good to show that my game is still there.”

On the emotions immediately after winning

“It’s still a bit of a whirlwind. To shoot 10-under, that’s still hard to get through my head, but mainly just the support of my family and my wife Rachel has given me to be able to keep doing this because it is tough in Australia to make a living here. I can’t wait to be able to get back overseas because I feel like my game’s as good as it has been. A bit of maturity and learning your own game, not trying to copy anyone else and do what’s best for you and how you perform.”

Charlie Dann (16-under, 71)

On how his round derailed after the turn

“Once I felt in control, that was probably the worst way to feel. Things spiralled for me at the eighth by hitting that chip into the grain and didn’t make the contact I wanted. I was also fighting for a par on the next, the par 5, which has been good to me this week. Things just went from there and in this game when you’re in a bit of a spiral times the pressure of the situation, it just kept happening and I was trying to work for a par. Very different experience for me for sure. It’s definitely called the bogey train for a reason; that train was moving and I had to make a long two-putt on 13 to rectify par. I kept fighting my hardest but I guess I can dig into that and find out what happened in my mind.”

On giving himself chances to draw level late

“I felt really nice on the last four or five holes. I had a really good chance on 15 and pulled that putt a little bit down the hill, that chance went begging, a poor pitch shot into the grain again on the next and just wasn’t as sharp. That’s what you’ve got to deal with when you’re facing all different circumstances. I’m upset I didn’t win but I’m not upset about my performance. Just a bit unfortunate today.”

On returning home to Sunshine Coast for Queensland Open

“My golf’s been trending on the up since the first event at the Super 6. I’m just going to keep knowing that I’m doing a good job out there and I’m not going to let a performance such as someone shooting 10-under to win get me down. I’ll move on and defintiely looking forward to it.”

Elvis Smylie (15-under, 65)

On his reflections after first professional event

“It was cool. Everything is still sinking in right now. Obviously I didn’t win but I felt like i gave myself the best chance at winning. I did all the right stuff, I was really aggressive coming down the stretch, there were no shots that I regret not hitting. I hit 3-wood on 17 to try and go for the green and managed to birdie that to feel like I had a shot, not knowing that Andrew Martin was going to come out and shoot 10-under. The fact he went eagle-eagle-eagle was crazy. I did everything that I felt like I need to do in order for me to win but at the end of the day it wasn’t enough. I’m super proud and happy of the effort that I gave this week. Nothing’s different from amateur to professional golf, you just don’t have an ‘a’ next to your name and you’re playing for money. Nothing changes. I’m excited for Queensland Open next week and then NSW Open after that.”

On responding after the triple bogey at 14 on Saturday

“The 14 tee shot I hit OB onto the range. I just hit this smothered draw and just completely switched off mentally. Times like that are going to happen, you’re going to hit shots like that and they’re not going to happen at a good time. It happened to me on Saturday in the third round and if I could have those four shots back, I would have been pretty close to winning today. I holed a lot of 40, 50-foot putts throughout the week though too so that probably evens it out. I’m not thinking about the negatives, I’m thinking about the positives and there were a lot of them next week.”

On how he will spend part of his first pay cheque

“It’s all new for me, I’ll probably shout my parents dinner. That should be a start as a way of saying thanks for everything they have done for me. Dinner with the family.”

On what 2021 looks like beyond the NSW Open

“My dad will be managing me for my career which is really exciting and there are a lot of things going on behind the scenes that I don’t really know about. My job is to play the best golf I possibly can and then everything else will take care of itself. I can say for a fact that it is looking very exciting. It’s going to be a good year, I can tell. A lot of opportunities and I’m going to grab it with two hands and do as best I can with that.”

Charlie Dann (16-under, 66)

On handling the nerves as tournament leader

“I was nervous at the start, I was nervous all last night because I haven’t been in that position. If you’re putting yourself in uncomfortable positions on the golf course you know you’re doing something usually quite well. I was pretty excited to be nervous, which was cool. I felt it for the last three holes but then flicked a little switch and felt somewhat comfortable. It was really fun the rest of the day.”

On the tee shot at the fourth hole

“It was a good swing thought for the day on the driver. I hit a really nice one up there and it’s quite skinny where that went so it was pretty nice to pump that one and I felt that driver swing all day. If you can hit driver well around here you’re in play most of the time. The birdie definitely helped things but it was more slotting the drive.”

On the strength of his putting from inside six feet

“I contribute that to the last couple of months of playing. I’ve done a lot of putting over the last six months but I got really technical through that whole period because I wasn’t playing any events but playing these events, I’ve kind of just willed them in. I feel like I’ve taken all the pressure off my stroke and I just try to have good tempo. If I’ve got a good mindset over most of them, I’m sure they’re going to go in.”

On his work with Grant Field over the past six years

“I don’t see him as regularly as his other people. We work on similar things that I know my swing needs. Obviously my swing is a little unique and he knows when I’m playing my best golf that I’m not really thinking about too much. He knows that my game is in me and it’s all about my getting my mind to where I need to get it. He has a belief in what I do and I do to. He’s more of a great support for me rather than a technical coach.”

On whether he will indulge in a pre final round McFlurry

“You know what, I haven’t decided. Tee times have come a little bit earlier, it might hinder my time to go to the toilet. I’m going to say yes. I’m going to have a nice dinner with my girlfriend tonight who I haven’t seen for a couple of months and probably have an early night. And you know what, if we walk past McDonald’s I’m not going to not go in. I’ve had one little bar of chocolate from the pro shop here at Bonnie Doon basically the whole week, bar a couple of little Lindt balls at home. I haven’t actually had as much this week so maybe that’s going to be the trend for me to stop eating so much.”

On handling the nerves of the final round

“I’m expecting to feel more comfortable in the morning and then maybe a bit less uncomfortable as the day goes on. I’m kind of looking forward to it.”

On playing with junior Brielle Mapanao

“I just wanted to help her with the moment as well as myself. I knew talking to her about being nervous and me telling her exactly how I was feeling, we had an understanding and helped each other have some fun. It was really cool to play with her, she’s a very solid golfer. Hopefully I made her feel comfortable.”

Jordan Zunic (13-under, 67)

On his play the first three days

“I just had a bit of an unfortunate chip shot on 18 on Thursday that bobbled on me a bit and came back down the slope but besides that I’ve felt really good all week. I’m hitting the ball pretty well and I’ve holed a few putts which is always nice. It’s been really tough in the southerly the last couple of days and now that I’ve finished I’m absolutely shattered. Every shot you’ve got to really concentrate because the wind’s so strong and if you lose concentration for one shot you can get into some real trouble pretty quickly. I’m really happy with how I’ve gone the last couple of days and I’m glad to be thereabouts. Hopefully I can be right in there tomorrow.”

On his association with Bonnie Doon

“I got picked up here as a junior on a scholarship and I was a member here for the past 15 years up until last year. I obviously know a lot of people here, have a lot of history here at the club and it’s cool to play a professional tournament at what used to be my home club. I still have a lot of ties and a lot of history here and all the members have been really awesome supporting me this week. It feels like home.”

On the difficulty of the conditions

“The good thing about the wind is that because it’s coming from the south it’s consistently coming from the same direction so it’s not swirling. A lot of holes you are hitting uphill and there’s a lot of undulation in the fairways so you’re never really have a flat stance. It always makes it tricky when you’re trying to control your ball into the wind and you’re hitting off side-slopes. Because the wind’s up the greens are getting a little firmer and when they play firmer it’s harder to get close to the pins. All that combined makes it quite tricky.”

On the highlights of his round

“I hit a really nice chip 9-iron into 15. It was into the wind off the right and the pin was tucked in the front i the bowl and I hit one in there to six feet which was really nice. That was nice into the breeze. Besides that it was pretty stock standard birdies, took advantage of the downwind holes on seven, eight, nine and had a two-putt birdie on the par 5 on 14.”

On lessons from leading into the final round of the 2017 Australian PGA

“That was obviously gut-wrenching at the time but I did learn a lot from that experience. Obviously playing against Cam Smith who is an awesome golfer and top-50 player in the world now. I took a lot from that because I said to myself that if I can go toe-to-toe with a guy who has won on the PGA TOUR, it gave me a lot of belief that I can be there. That will make me feel better about going into tomorrow because I know that I’ve played against really world-class players. If everything goes my way tomorrow I definitely know I could do it again.”

On the nerves Dann will be feeling on the first tee Sunday

“I definitely know the feeling. He’s been playing really solid golf even in the weeks leading up to this in a few of the regional events we were all playing. I’m not surprised to see him up there but I’m looking forward to going to battle with him tomorrow. It should be good fun.”

On support crew in the gallery

“I’ve got my wife Olivia, Mum and Dad and my aunties and uncles and a few family friends. It’s always nice when you’ve got them in the crowd supporting you.”

On his form to start 2021

“I didn’t play much last year with COVID and got a part-time job at the Drummond Golf at Taren Point just to help with finances. My game took a bit of a hit because I was only playing once or twice a week just because I was working quite a lot. When I got back into it I said to my caddy that it was going to be a marathon and that it would take four or five weeks of playing to get back to competitive level. We’ve been planning to peak for the NSW Open because that’s our biggest event to finish the season and I just seem to be getting a little bit better with each tournament. It’s bene what I was expecting and everything is trending in the right direction.”

Dale Williamson (11-under, 66)

On his performance the first three days

“The birdies have come pretty easy this week, it’s just been keeping the other stuff off the card. I’ve had a lot of birdies and a few eagles but just trying to stay consistent and get rid of the other rubbish.”

On his double bogey at the par-3 sixth

“I short-sided myself in the bunker and was semi-plugged. I hit that onto the other side of the green, chipped on to eight foot and had a 360-degree horseshoe that came back at me that I was walking in. A couple of metres away from being an OK tee shot to walking off with double was a bit of a shock to the system. I was able to claw it back pretty quick.”

On his strong form to start 2020

“It’s been a work in progress. I’ve put a lot of work in with my coach/mentor Michael Gannon and then started having a few lessons with Gary Barter as well, doing a lot of short game stuff which has really helped and freed up the rest of the game. I’ve generally played pretty solid in the Aussie pro-ams so it was just a matter of time before it started to translate and take that relaxed feel to the four-rounders.”

On confidence from finishing tied 17th at TPS Victoria

“It was definitely positive down in Melbourne and feels similar to these couple of weeks where I’ve left a lot out on the course but the game is definitely trending in the right direction.”

On his approach for the final round

“I was just talking to my coach about it. If I can eliminate a couple of those mistakes and get close to having a bogey-free round where I know I’m going to have a lot of birdies, I should be able to get thereabouts.”

On his friendship with leader Charlie Dann

“I’ve played a lot with Charlie and do a lot of my travelling with him. He’s playing well this week as well and been playing very solid the last couple of months. He absolutely loves his McFlurries from Macca’s. That’s Charlie’s go-to, the ice cream and if he doesn’t have at least half a block of chocolate a night there’s something wrong with him. He’s an M&M man with his McFlurries but we saw the new Cookies McFlurry the other day so he’s pretty keen to get his hands on one of them. I won’t be handing it to him (if he wins); I’ll be tipping it on his head.”

Strengthening winds made play progressively more difficult for the morning groups and was at its strongest as the afternoon wave took to the course, conditions easing later in the afternoon.

Dann’s 7-under 64 was highlighted by an eagle at the par-5 ninth while Wilson had to fight his way back into contention after starting the second round with three consecutive bogeys heading into the teeth of a wind he estimated to be in excess of 40km/h.

“Yesterday I hit driver, 9-iron into the first and today it was driver, 3-wood,” Wilson explained.

“Obviously I got off to a rough start but I knew that seven, eight and nine were the easier down-wind holes. I just had to stay patient and wait for those holes to happen and I played them in 4-under again like I did yesterday.”

An eagle two at the par-4 seventh and birdies at eight and nine getting him back to square on his round at the turn, Wilson made it five shots in the space of four holes with a birdie at the par-4 10th.

Yet despite joining Dann at the top with two closing birdies, he had competition from his daughter Chloe for best Wilson result of the day.

“This morning my daughter won her first pennant match, so it was really cool to get that message before I teed off,” said Wilson, who credited his good play in the opening two days to a swing tip from Jason Norris earlier in the week.

“She’s playing Division I for Cranbourne in the ladies pennant and she won on the 17th hole at Huntingdale so I’m probably more happy for her. There’s still a long way to go in this tournament.”

A late bloomer in the world of professional golf, 28-year-old Dann didn’t turn pro until the end of 2018 but has consistently got himself into contention without quite closing out a breakthrough tournament win.

With the prospect of returning to the PGA Tour China Series looking less and less likely, a strong weekend at Bonnie Doon would represent a critical short-term career milestone on the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia.

“I’m around 70th at the moment (on the moneylist) and I only crept up a little bit after the Moonah events,” said Dann, who finished tied for 11th at the Moonah Links PGA Classic.

“These next three weeks are pretty crucial for me for the next year or so.

“It would be really nice to hold an Aussie card at the least for the next 18 months going forward.

“These next few weeks are important to me for sure.”

Matching Dann for round of the day to be one of five players sitting one shot adrift, 2019 NSW Open champion Josh Younger finished his round with a chip-in eagle at the par-5 ninth with former NT PGA champion Travis Smyth (65), professional debutant Jack Thompson (66), Victorian Blake Collyer (67) and Queenslander Shae Wools-Cobb (68) all within one of the lead.

Although Elvis Smylie garnered much of the pre-tournament attention, Thompson has just the one bogey to his name through 36 holes in his maiden event as a professional.

“I pulled my tee shot left on 10 yesterday and as I was walking up there I was still a little bit nervous,” admitted the South Australian.

“Then I hit a really good shot into eight or nine feet and from that point on I felt so calm. It set the tone, to pull off a shot like that at the start. From then on I felt pretty calm.

“It’s a nice feeling looking at the leaderboard and seeing your name up there, you never get sick of it. I’ve just got to continue on and keep doing what I’m doing good and see where we go from there.”

It was a disastrous day for overnight leader Stephanie Kyriacou, the local Sydney hope crashing with a second round of 9-over 80 to miss the cut by three shots and reduce the number of females to make the weekend to four.

LPGA Tour regular Su Oh (68) and Augusta National-bound amateur Grace Kim (70) are the best-placed of the ladies at 5-under par, one shot clear of newly-turned professional Doey Choi with a further shot back to fellow Sydneysider Breanna Gill at 3-under.

The third round of The Players Series Sydney presented by Cisco Webex commences at 9.50am AEDT on Saturday with the final two rounds to be broadcast live on Fox Sports and Kayo on Saturday and Sunday.

Read more round 2 reactions from #ThePlayersSeries leaders here.

Charlie Dann (11-under, 64)

On his form since the tour’s resumption in January

“I started well at the first event, the Super 6, I got myself up the leaderboard to second or something through the second round. I noticed that my game was where I wanted it to be from that first week and dropped off a little coming in before finishing top 15. That gave me a little bit of confidence moving forward that what I’d done through COVID was on the right track. The conditions at Rosebud kind of got me and then Moonah Links I did a good job. I don’t hit it very long and I think it helps to be long around there but I plotted my around nicely. It was good to have that momentum. The scores were consistently under par and kept chipping away coming into the pro-ams and started those off nicely as well.”

On his first round, a 4-under 67

“I’ve been travelling with James Grierson and we’ve probably only had five or six days off since mid-January. I kind of flat-lined yesterday and I’ve noticed that a little bit because I’ve played a lot of golf lately. I’ve kind of done that a few times where I flat-line through the middle. I start quite well usually and it’s all about whether I can get a couple of momentum putts going through the middle of the round determines how I play through the end. To be 4-under was pretty solid and then made the most of the conditions this morning when it wasn’t that windy. The last nine holes got quite windy and this afternoon looks pretty scary so I got my score going early and plotted my way around the back nine and hit some solid shots just trying to get into the weekend with something decent.”

On the highlights of his second round

“Nine was playing downwind today so it was a three-quarter 9-iron into the middle of the green, bounced a little left towards the pin and left me a 10-footer for eagle. That was a nice one to make and really good momentum to take into the back nine actually. Eleven was a really strong birdie in my opinion. It was playing cross-wind and I hit a flat 6-iron into the middle of the green and holed the putt up the tier from about 18 feet. That was a bonus in my mind. I wasn’t trying to make birdie on that hole, I was just trying to hit it to the right spot. The last three or four holes could have played tricky if you’d let them so I just played them pretty conservatively.”

On how Bonnie Doon compares to other courses he has played

“It reminds me a little bit of China just in terms of how much grass there is here and how thick and grainy it is. It doesn’t have the length of the China courses but the ball lands and stops basically where you hit it, it doesn’t roll out too much. If you can control your ball and land it in the right areas it’s OK.”

On keeping his PGA Tour of Australasia card

“I’m around 70th at the moment and I only crept up a little bit after the Moonah events. These next three weeks are pretty crucial for me for the next year. It would be really nice to hold an Aussie card at the least for the next 18 months going forward. These next few weeks are important to me for sure.”

Peter Wilson (11-under, 67)

On the tough conditions early in his round

“When I got here it was blowing 40 or 50 kays or something so it was really quite tough. I hit driver, 9-iron into the first hole yesterday and today it was driver, 3-wood. Obviously I got off to a rough start but I knew that seven, eight and nine were the easier down-wind holes so I just had to stay patient and wait for those holes to happen and I played them in 4-under again like I did yesterday.”

On how he was feeling after three bogeys

“I didn’t want to bogey five as well because that was the next one that was into the wind. I felt all right after I parred that one and I hit a good drive down the par-5 which I could reach in two. I had a two-putt birdie at seven and then hit it to three feet off the tee on eight and gave myself a mystery yardage on nine. I took it off instead of adding it on to the front edge but managed to get up-and-down for birdie. I hit 4-iron to four feet at 10 and made that one so that was good as well.”

On a swing tip from Jason Norris

“Norrey was helping me out on Tuesday and Wednesday and he’s got my game back on track. I’d better thank him. We’ve travelled together for most of our career and he noticed a swing key that I was struggling with. He worked on it with me on Wednesday and it felt really good and been good so far. It’s the type of course where you have to hit your irons into the right sections and with Norrey’s help my irons are a bit better this week.”

On his daughter Chloe’s win in a pennant match in Melbourne

“This morning my daughter won her first pennant match, so it was really cool to get that message before I teed off. She’s playing Division I for Cranbourne in the ladies pennant and she won on the 17th hole at Huntingdale. She started just before COVID and me and Marty Joyce have helped her along the process of getting a good golf swing and she’s gone from a 32 handicap to eight in about 12 months. She wants to be a professional so that’s cool.”

Travis Smyth (10-under, 65)

On his preparation leading into the event

“I had two weeks off and just practiced in Sydney and it was pretty harsh weather for the two weeks. Basically what we have here this week is exactly what I’ve been practising in for the last two weeks. We’re chipping 4-irons from 150, 160 metres and stuff like that. I’m very much used to that. I don’t feel uncomfortable doing that at all.”

On the summary of his play the first two days

“I’ve had two really hot nine-holes both days. I come out of the gates really well and both nines are definitely gettable but you still have to hole the putts. The way I’ve played on the back nine both days, I’ve played OK but for whatever reason the score’s just nowhere near as good as what I had on the first nine. Game feels pretty solid and the first nine holes this morning was amazing. It was so fun.”

On the conditions at Bonnie Doon

“With this wind you’ve got half the golf course into and half the golf course down-wind. If you just play the into-the-wind holes well, you’re going to shoot a good score. There are some driveable par 4s but for the most part the males are taking the same clubs and hitting it to the same spots. There is a little bit of risk-reward but I feel like everyone is doing the same thing.”

On his eagle at the par-5 14th

“That was insane. We had a 10-minute wait while the group in front was looking for golf balls and it was right at the point where the wind picked up from 10 km/h to 25 in a heartbeat. It felt like it was playing an extra club longer every minute that we waited. I just managed to carry the out-of-bounds right and gone into the bunker, hit it out with an 8-iron to 135 and then holed a 7-iron, little chip into the wind. One bounce and straight in.”

On familiarity with the windy conditions in Sydney

“Everyone should be pretty used to playing in the wind, but playing these holes into this wind, I’ve done it so many times that I know what to expect. I know the feels. It can be sometimes hard to pull a 4-iron from 160 metres because it feels like so much club but because I’ve done it four or five times before I know that the ball is not going to go as far as what some people might think. The downwind holes are easy, it’s the into-the-wind holes that can throw up some really tough 4 or 5-iron shots into some par 4s. They just play so long. I was hitting 4-iron from 150 metres, it was blowing.”

Josh Younger (10-under, 64)

On his closing eagle at the par-5 ninth

“I missed the green in the right-hand swale. Thankfully the pin was on the left and I opened up the lob wedge, hit a good chip and lucky enough it went in. I was a bit down-grain so that made it a little bit easier but had a bit of green to work with. Just had to hit a nice one and managed to do it.”

On thoughts after opening 68 on Thursday

“I made a bogey on my last hole so I was looking at a 4-under which I thought would have been pretty good. It was a solid start, something to build on. I definitely didn’t feel like I had to go out this morning and chase something. I played pretty good today and was able to be pretty patient and let things unfold. A lot of the talk at the start of the week was that the scores would be low and when I got here yesterday the wind had only just started to get up. You expect that there are going to be some good scores but I thought anything under par would be a good start I was pretty happy with 3-under.”

On his performances in four events in Victoria

“It was a little bit frustrating. I played pretty good at the first one back at Gippsland and I just felt like I was making some mistakes. I was getting a little bit angry with myself so that proves you’re making some silly mistakes and trying to force some things. I just never really clicked into gear for that month. I was home for a couple of weeks, worked on a couple of things and tried to simplify a few things and stay patient out here. So far it’s going all right.”

On the disruption in 2020 after a strong finish to 2019

“It’s been a kick in the guts for everyone but personally, to break through and get a win and then play good up in Asia two weeks later to get my card… things were looking promising schedule-wise. I went up to Asia for one week in March after the NZ Open and then everything shut down from then on. That feels a fair while ago. It’s been a strange old time for everyone so it’s nice to be able to get back and play some sort of golf. Enjoy it while we can.”

Jack Thompson (10-under, 66)

On reflecting on his first round as a professional on Thursday

“I was super happy with yesterday. I played very solid not having a bogey was nice – but the main thing was that I felt like I still left a few out there. I played solid but I didn’t play out of my skin and to have that score I was pretty happy with. I just thought the momentum would carry through to today which it did which was nice.”

On his bogey at the par-4 first on Friday

“Right as we teed off was probably the windiest it got all afternoon but had a 4-iron in and didn’t get up-and-down from the front. Apart from that it was pretty solid.”

On the changing conditions throughout the afternoon

“The first five or six holes felt quite tough and at that point if I thought I was going to have 5-under I would have said that was a pretty good score but as the day went on it dropped a little bit with the wind. Just tried to take advantage of the down-wind holes and really exploit those. It was actually easier as the day went on.”

On the highlights of his round

“I holed a good putt from around 20 feet at the last, so that will make dinner taste a bit better. Apart from that it was just solid, hitting a green under reg and a two-putt birdie was pretty standard for today. Apart from the 18th nothing too special.”

On his position near the top of the leaderboard in his pro debut

“It’s a nice feeling looking at the leaderboard and seeing your name up there, you never get sick of it. I’ve just got to continue on and keep doing what I’m doing good and see where we go from there.”

On nerves prior to first round as a professional

“Actually there was. I wouldn’t say I was super-nervous but just standard. I pulled my tee shot left on 10 and as I was walking up there I was still a little bit nervous and then I hit a really good shot into eight or nine feet and from that point on I felt so calm. It set the tone, to pull off a shot like that at the start. From then on I felt pretty calm.”

On his biggest win as an amateur

“I only won one and that was the Riversdale Cup in 2018. I was only just starting and hadn’t played that many men’s events at that time. I’ve had a lot of seconds so even though I didn’t get the job done it’s still nice to have the confidence from those that you’re always up there. If you keep doing that you’re going to snag a couple eventually. Even though losing in a playoff at the Queensland Open wasn’t ideal it was still nice to think that I could finish that high, even when I didn’t think my game was that great at that time.”

On how he’s scrambled the first two days

“I held it in there so well today. I missed three greens in a row in the morning on Thursday and the fact that they were slightly difficult, to get those three up-and-down was very nice. I don’t think I missed from inside six feet all day today, it was just so solid all day. It was one of those days with the putter where everything you looked at inside that distance I thought there was no way I was going to miss it.”

On his mother Cynthia being able to watch him on TV over the weekend

“She’s probably playing golf tomorrow so she might not be able to watch it. Maybe she can watch some replays and hopefully they’re good ones. She’s normally a 11-12 tee off so I think she’ll just have to watch the replays. Hopefully she flies around and can see the end of it.”