photo: Matt Jones in action early in his 3rd round. – Justin Falconer Golf Australia

Australia’s Matt Jones has extended his one shot 36-hole lead to three through 54 holes of the Australian Open Championship in Sydney and his already impressive record at this venue, and in this event, appears as if it may well be extended in tomorrow’s final round.

Jones won his national title around the Australian Golf Club in 2015 and finished runner-up two years later, so, that he enjoys such a fine history at the golf course, suggests he will again be the man to beat.

Jones leads over American Cameron Tringale, with another shot back to Japanese amateur star Takumi Kanaya, South Africa’s Louis Oosthuizen and the man who might yet be Jones’ biggest threat on day four, Paul Casey.

Unlike the opening two days of the event where benign conditions prevailed, the morning, easterly breeze turned into a wind around mid-morning and by the time the leaders hit off at 11.55 the Australian Golf Club layout began to bare its teeth for the first time this week.

The often irrelevant and overused term of ‘moving day’ became even more so as nobody appeared capable of breaking clear of the field and by the time the leaders made the turn, 11 players were within two shots of the lead headed by South African Louis Oosthuizen, former champion, the US based Sydneysider, Matt Jones and New Zealand rookie Denzel Ieremia.

They led by one over American, Cameron Tringale, recently turned professional Blake Windred and England’s Paul Casey who had just three putted the 9^th to drop out of the lead he had on his own to that point.

Also at 8 under and just one from the lead, was another US based Sydneysider Jamie Arnold who emerged from the cutline of 1 under par to be just one from the lead with his stunning early morning round of 64, a round that would become four shots better than any other.

Three holes later, however, and it would be Jones who established a break on the field with three birdies in his opening four holes of the closing nine and he led by three over Tringale with another shot back to Casey, Ieremia, Kanaya, Oosthuizen and Arnold who four hours earlier had finished his round.

When Jones walked from the 16^th green he had added yet another birdie to open-up a four-shot lead and although he found trouble at the 17^th and took bogey he would find the green with his second at the par 5 18th.

When he had safely two putted for birdie he had added a round of 68 and at 13 under he had established a cushion heading into tomorrow.

The golf course was clearly more demanding today and Jones summed up the reason why in his post round press conference.

“It’s just not a normal wind, I don’t find out here from years of playing, the easterly’s not a normal wind,” he said. “I find it normally a north or a south wind. So, you’ve got some side winds out there. It was just tricky because it kept going from east, then it went to northeast, then it went to southeast and it’s just tough to trust some of those numbers.

“It got Paul on number 9 where he hit a perfect shot and it came up in a bunker. It was tougher and the pin locations were tougher. It was tougher to get access out there.”

“I started off a little shaky and I knew once you get through certain holes, you’ve got more holes later on in the round that you can make some birdies and I was lucky enough to get through them and got to the back nine and I made, I think, five birdies on the back nine to have a good round.

“I was very calm out there today. My caddy said on the first tee if you’re not nervous – I can’t remember what he said – then I must be wrong, because I wasn’t very nervous, I was very comfortable and excited to go out and play. I played with Paul for many years in college and it was fun to go out there and play with him.”

Jones’ closest challenger, Cameron Tringale, has yet to win on either the PGA or Korn Ferry Tour so tomorrow holds hopes for him to finally breakthrough with a win of significance. He has been three times runner-up however and a win tomorrow would be just reward for his efforts to date and for making the decision to come to Australia. A win this week may well be the making of the 32 year old.

Casey summed up how many are perhaps feeling about their chances tomorrow.

“Matt played fantastic golf I thought, really good stuff and if he plays like that tomorrow then I think he’ll probably be a bit too tough, because I’m too far back probably, but we’ll see. I played a wonderful round of golf on Friday; I need to try and replicate that tomorrow

“It was a flat day, I just never really got going, not much to really say, I didn’t do a hell of a lot wrong but when I had opportunities, I didn’t capitalise and there was obviously a couple of errors in there. But how do you get around this course without making errors?

Oosthuizen birdied his final hole to remind all that the classy former Open Champion is still a major chance tomorrow. So how did he feel about the four shot margin between he and the leader.

“I think around here it’s not too much. You can really get it going around here if you start making a few putts, the greens are so good. I think it all depends on your start. If you have a good start and he just goes 1-over maybe through five holes, then different story. I think it’s all on if he’s going to start really well and pull away from everyone, then it gets difficult, but I need to start well tomorrow.”

Matt Jones, however, has had a very commercially successful career in professional golf with more than US$12 million in earnings on the PGA Tour alone but at the age of 39 it is titles that are perhaps equally important.

With only two of significance to his name (the Houston Open and the 2015 Australian Open), a win tomorrow will help balance the ledger.

 

 

 

 

 

Photo Takumi Kanaya – Golf Australia

Two of Asia best amateur golfers in recent years have a share of the opening round lead at the Emirates Australian Open, Japan’s Takumi Kanaya and Taiwan’s Chun-An You opening with rounds of 66 at the Australian Golf Club in Sydney to lead by two over Australians Matt Jones, Dimi Papdatos and Daniel Nisbet.

Both players have been beneficiaries of the Asia Pacific Amateur Championship in recent years, Kanaya a winner in 2017 and runner-up in 2019 and Yu a regular top ten finisher in recent years, highlighting the benefit being provided to golf in the Asia Pacific region by the increasingly significant world class amateur event.

Kanaya won one of the flagship events on the Japan Golf Tour two weeks ago when successful at the Mitsui Sumitomo Visa Taiheiyo Masters and twelve months ago finished 17^th at the Australian Open while Yu is currently the 6^th ranked male amateur in the world.

Kanaya began his round at the 10th hole and book-ended his day with four consecutive birdies to begin and two consecutive birdies to finish. His only bogey would come at his 12^th hole bit it was another impressive performance in an Australian event for the 21-year old.

“I play Australian Golf Club third time this year,” said Kanaya.  “So, I was 17 years old, I played 2015, so I shot 85 second round, so I learned (the) Australian golf style.  I just (knew) Japanese golf style before 17 years old. I have confidence, but I have three more days, so I will do my best tomorrow.

After beginning his day with an early bogey at his second hole, Yu birdied seven of his last twelve holes to join Kanaya in the lead several hours after Kanaya finished his morning round. Yu gets the chance to steal a march on Kanaya with an early tee time on day two while Kanaya plays in the afternoon field.

“Yeah, it feels great,” said Yu who attends Arizona State University. “I’ve played here four, five years ago and so I know the course a little bit.  I played great out there, so hopefully tomorrow I can do it again, yeah. The better scores actually came in this morning and this afternoon was much more difficult.  So, you’ve got an early start tomorrow, ready to go.

PGA Tour player, Jones, continued his love affair with the Australian Golf Club where he has spent so much time in earlier years and when visiting his coach while home, Gary Barter. Jones defeated Jordan Spieth and Adam Scott to win this event in 2015 and has again begun well, his round highlighted by an eagle at his 9^th hole (the 18^th of the course).

Papadatos finished runner-up behind Abraham Ancer at the Australian Open last year and although he has not recorded a top ten anywhere in the world since he has again shown a liking for playing at home.

Nisbet, who, like Papadatos, is a former New Zealand Open champion, but aside from a win at the Queensland PGA Championship earlier this year his season in 2019 has been well below his best. Today’s round was a real encouragement for the Gold Coast based golfer.

Pre-tournament favourite Paul Casey is three shots off the lead after his round of 68, an eagle at the 14^th after an iron to 2 inches from 210 yards boosting his round after a slow start to the day.

Australia’s number one and the number two world ranked player in the field, Adam Scott was a surprise, his round of 71 leaving him a massive ten shots from the lead.

 

Anthony Quayle has today fallen short in his quest to win his first Japan Tour title but his 3^rd place finish at the Casio World Open has seen the 25 year old Queensland based golfer produce his best result in eighteen months and boost his bank balance by the equivalent of A$180,000.

Quayle will improve to 29^th on the money list for 2019 and earn himself a start at the season ending Golf Nippon Series event in Tokyo which is limited to the leading 30 players on the money list.

Quayle took a lead into the final round today after a barnstorming finish to his third round on Saturday and appeared to be on his way to a first victory as a professional with four birdies in his first ten holes.

Bogeys at his 14^th and 18^th holes however allowed former Presidents Cup player, Kyung Tae Kim, of Korea to win his 14^th Japan Tour title but his first in over three years.

Kim won by two over South African Shaun Norris with Quayle another shot back.

Quayle’s fellow Sanctuary Cove based golfer, Dylan Perry, was the next best of the Australians when he produced a brilliant weekend to finish 18^th after only narrowly making it into the weekend field.

Brad Kennedy was 49^th, Won Joon Lee was 53^rd and David Bransdon 58^th.

The final event of the year is played in Tokyo next week, the Golf Nippon Series field containing four Australians, Brendan Jones, Brad Kennedy, Matthew Griffin and Anthony Quayle although Quayle may possibly be considering playing the Australian Open instead.

Scores

 

 

Gold Coast based, Anthony Quayle, continued his recovery from a mid-season slump on the Japan Tour, a second round, best of the day 65 at the Casio World Open moving the 25-year old into second place at the halfway mark.

Quayle, who was born in Port Macquarie but raised in Gove in the Northern Territory before moving to Queensland, is in his second season on the Japan Tour and has shown in his short time there he has the game to win.

He has already been runner-up in the prestigious Crowns event early in his Japan Tour career but there have been several other top tens and his first win must surely be not far away.

After struggles through the middle of the year, Quayle has played well in each of his last two starts and in his second round at the Kuchi Koroshio  Country Club in the island of Shikoku, his 7 under par round swept him from 36^th overnight to just two from the lead of Shintaro Kobayashi.

Kobayashi has yet to win on the Japan Tour in fact he plays the secondary tour in Japan so this is an opportunity the 33 year old will be keen to capitalise on.

Quayle’s fellow Gold Coast based golfers, Brad Kennedy and Dylan Perry are the next best of the Australians in a share of 35^th while Won Joon Lee and David Bransdon just scrapped into the weekend field.

 

photo: Josh Younger Golf NSW

35-year old Victorian, Josh Younger, played in the more difficult afternoon field on day one of the AV Jennings NSW Open at the Twin Creeks Golf and Country Club west of Sydney but that did not stop him from producing a stunning opening round of 9 under par 63 to lead by one.

Younger, who has yet to win on the PGA Tour of Australasia, began his round at the 10th and birdies seven of his first eight holes to make the turn in 29 and, although the momentum slowed somewhat after making the turn, he had established the base for a round which would eventually give him the lead over the exciting Perth golfer, Minwoo Lee, and Justin Warren of Picton in NSW.

Younger’s previous best on the PGA Tour of Australasia was when runner-up to Nick Cullen at the 2014 Australian Masters but importantly for his ongoing chances this week, he finished 3rd in this event last year and although 2019 has been a struggle for him recent work with a mental coach appears to have made a difference.

“I started off on the back-nine and made six straight and then just tried to keep out of my own way from there on in,” said Younger.

“People won’t believe me but the back-nine was tough. We came through the turn and the wind got up and that front-nine played quite difficult. I had a good start and was able to stay patient and let things happen. I picked up a couple more coming in and saved a couple of pars.”

Lee is just completing his first year as a professional, a year which saw him narrowly miss his full status on the European Tour for 2020 but he will have enough to secure plenty of starts.

Lee is joined in second place by 24 year old Warren, who completed his education at the University of Arkansas in the US in the middle of this year, but he had gained access to the PGA Tour of Australasia at the Tour School late in 2018.

Dimi Papadatos, Travis Smyth and local amateur Nathan Barbieri are tied for 4th at 7 under par and two from the lead.

Despite the breezy afternoon conditions, 64 players broke par on the Graham Marsh designed layout.