Gallichan eyeing off Moonah Classic

BY Anthony Powter | Australasian PGA Tour | 2009 Moonah Classic | Round Three | 28 Feb 2009

It was only six months ago that Richie Gallichan decided to have a good look at himself with his short career as a professional golfer. The 24-year-old from the Central Coast region of New South Wales was frustrated with his game and called on the experience of good mate and fellow player, Andre Stolz for guidance.

Richie Gallichan Audio Interview

“I was at the stage where I was in a mess and wanted to take myself further, both as a person and as a player,” said Gallichan.

Tomorrow at the Moonah Classic, Gallichan has that opportunity to take his career to the next level when he tees off in the final group at the Moonah Classic, two behind tournament leader, Miguel Angel Carballo, after the Argentinean finished the third round at 9-under-par.

For the best part of the day Gallichan held the lead until the 411 metre 16th, where his approach fell short of the green in a deep grassy depression with a bogey resulting. On the eighteenth Gallichan was unlucky not to get the dropped shot back, when his birdie putt kissed the hole and refused to drop.

“I’ve been so relax out there playing all this week,” said Gallichan of his sub-par rounds of 71-68-70.

“I’ve worked hard the last few months with Andre Stolz, both on the course and with issues I had off the course. My game is there and I’m now approaching golf differently.”

As an amateur Gallichan was one of the Australia’s most promising talents. This afternoon at Moonah, and with the recent unfolding events at last week’s Johnnie Walker Classic where Gallichan held the opening round lead before finishing with a 69, have brought a complete new perspective and outlook towards the game for him.

“When I was an amateur I use to think that I was entitled to the results,” said Gallichan.

“Now I realise that you have to be prepared to work for results and they only come from hard effort. Andre has help me tremendously with my game and my approach both on and off the course. It’s vastly different to what it was twelve months ago when I’d just went professional.”

Miguel Carballo played peerless golf during his third round 71, finishing with birdies on the closing two holes to deny Gallichan the overnight lead.

“Out there with the way the wind is blowing, it is all with the putter,” remarked Carballo.

“If you don’t putt well on these greens, you cannot compete well. I’ll try tomorrow to start my round better than I did today. I was a little cold and I’ve never led a Nationwide Tour event after the third round, so I need to get my game settled early.”

David Smail and Peter O’Malley are in tied third position at 6-under-par, a stroke behind Gallichan. O’Malley advancing up the leaderboard through a monster one-hundred foot plus putt on the sixteenth.

“I’ve certainly have never holed a putt that long,” said O’Malley.

“There aren’t too many greens where you could hit a putt that long. I’m a right hand dominant person, and it’s being playing with my putting lately. I started practising putting one handed and the putter is now flowing a lot better.”

Four players, including Americans Dustin White and Daniel Summerhays, are at 5-under-par, just four strokes behind Carballo.

Adam Bland started the third round in tied twenty-second position and quickly moved to two shots of the leaders at the turn following birdies on the fourth and eighth and looked set to challenge the leaders until a costly error on the 411 metre sixteenth. A double bogey resulted in Bland slipping down the leaderboard, to eventually finish tied ninth at 4-under-par.

Overnight leader Michael Sim opened his third round in disastrous fashion with a bogey on the first, followed by a double on the second. Within six holes Sim had dropped three shots slipping back to eventually finish with a 76 and be with Bland in tied ninth position along with four other players, five behind the leader.

Ashley Hall will be regretting not producing on the seventeenth the shot he did on the 174 metre fifth, where he celebrated with a hole-in-one, the problem being the designated $50,000 was the seventeenth. Paul Marantz also produced a hole-in-one on the thirteenth.

The co-sactioned Nationwide Tour events in Australasia have launched numerous Australian careers, with Paul Sheehan, Gavin Coles and Ewan Porter, all recent players that have gained tremendous advances in their careers after claiming a title.

Gallichan will be hoping to join their ranks tomorrow evening at Moonah.

With a determined Carballo, winner of the 2007 Panama Championship on the Nationwide Tour, playing solid golf on a layout that he’s warming to with each round and the likes of seasoned players of David Smail and Peter O’Malley, only three from the lead it promises to be a close final encounter at Moonah.