Quayle in action today – photo PGA Australia
Former Queensland Open Champion, Anthony Quayle, has the halfway lead at the Queensland PGA Championship at the Nudgee Golf Club in Brisbane, the former Northern Territorian but now Gold Coast based golfer two shots clear of Victorian David Micheluzzi with Queensland’s Louis Dobbelaar, Canberra’s Mathew Millar and Western Australian Cooper Geddes another shot back in a share of third place.
27 year old Quayle, a product of the Hills International Golfing Facility at Jimboomba and who stormed home to finish 6th at last week’s Australian PGA Championship at nearby Royal Queensland, was unable to produce the brilliance of yesterday’s opening round of 66 but in the demanding conditions his round of even par 72 was enough to establish a break heading into the weekend.
Quayle has played the Japan Golf Tour in recent years, where, although he has yet to win an event, he has finished runner-up and third in two significant events on that tour and did also finish 3rd at the Vic Open in 2018 in addition to his Queensland Open win at Caloundra in 2020.
The Gold Coast based golfer recorded just one bogey and one birdie today in the gusty and at times damp conditions but others were also having their struggles with the conditions and the recently opened layout at the Nudgee Golf Club.
Micheluzzi’s main claim to fame at present was when 5th behind Abraham Ancer at the 2018 Australian Open while still an amateur but he did finish 9th at last week’s Australian PGA Championship and is considered a young player of immense talent.
Dobbelaar was 3rd last week and Matthew Millar appears back on track after an indifferent week last week at Royal Queensland, the former NZ PGA Champion and one of the most consistent performers in recent times on the PGA Tour of Australasia, round in 72 to be right in the mix.
On a day where scoring soared in the difficult conditions, 68 was the best and only two players were able to produce that score, one being Elvis Smylie who recovered from his opening round of 68 to be in a share of 15th and now just 6 shots from the lead.
The cut fell at 5 over par with 56 players making it to the weekend but one who won’t be around is the man who six days ago had his life changed with an eleven shot win at the Australian PGA Championship.
Jed Morgan missed the cut by one shot after a second round of 77.
