Simpson in command at Queensland PGA
BY iseekgolf.com | Von Nida Tour | 2004 Queensland PGA | Round Two | 13 Nov 2004
Day two at the Toyota Queensland PGA Championship is over and the two golfers who have dominated the leaderboard for most of the day, remain in that position as the tournament heads into its third round tomorrow morning.
Gary Simpson at 17 under and Kurt Barnes at 14 under will be last off in round three, but that will not necessarily mean a long sleep in for the two leading players. With the start of the event having been delayed to allow to the course at Emerald Lakes to fully recover from the deluge last weekend, the tournament has been reduced to three days but in order to do so, 36 holes will be played on the final day. That will mean that the first tee off times on Sunday will be at 6.19 am with players drawn in the same groups for both the morning and afternoon rounds. The organisers will utilize a two tee (1st and 10th) start tomorrow to assist in getting the field around. The final round is expected to finish at around 5.30pm EST.
Simpson and Barnes who played together this morning, relished the early morning conditions and recorded the best rounds of the day when they handed in rounds of 64. It was a birdie fest between the two with the pair matching each other as they each recorded their best scoring as professionals.
The afternoon scoring was slightly more difficult with the warm temperatures and stronger breezes putting a cooler on the hot scoring of the morning. One of those out later in the day was one of the early leaders yesterday morning, Glenn Kelly from NSW, who struggled a little today. “I just didn’t feel comfortable today and probably felt a little defensive knowing that I wasn’t striking the ball well. I’m sure with that round under my belt I will feel better tomorrow,” he said.
Gary Simpson leads by three over Barnes, who in turn leads by three over the rest of the field. It would be easy to say that with just one day to go, the leader looks to have a big break but it should be remembered that the tournament is only half way through and that much can happen in the closing 36 holes of a professional golf tournament.
Three players are tied in third place at 11 under, they being Nationwide Tour player Nathan Green, Brisbane’s Michael Wright and local golfer Brad Andrews.
The last hour or so of play saw quite a change in those looking to make the cut or otherwise. Peter Senior, very much the tournament favourite heading into the week, could only manage a 71 today to go with his 69 yesterday and at four under it looked for some time as if his score may not be good enough. As those in the latter groups struggled, Senior’s prayers, and those of the tournament organizers, were answered and he will live to fight another day.
Pro tennis player Scott Draper makes his first cut in a professional golf event with rounds of 71 and 69 and he will relish the chance to get more experience in tournament golf when he plays here on Sunday. He will attend the Australasian PGA Tour School in three weeks time with a view to a more serious commitment to the professional arena.
Three highly credentialed amateurs in recent months Gavin Flint, Andrew McKenzie, James Nitties and Jason Day have all made the cut with 17 year old Day, at 6 under, the best of them. Nitties, Flint and McKenzie have all now turned professional but Day has only just completed his final year at Hills Educational Foundation at Jimboomba.
The cut line finally fell at four under after exactly fifty players plus three amateurs made it through. The close call means that defending champion David Diaz missed the cut by just one shot and one player.
Source – PGA Australia
