Five Aussies through at British Amateur
BY Anthony Powter | World Amateur Mens Tour | 2009 British Amateur Championship | Strokeplay Wrap | 17 Jun 2009
Five Australians have made it through 36 holes of qualifying to the match play portion of the British Amateur being played at Formby and West Lancashire Golf Clubs in Liverpool.
Brendan Smith and Matt Jager finished the stroke qualification rounds in a tie for 4th and the best of the Australians, five strokes behind leader, Italy’s Matteo Manassero.
Smith fired rounds of 70-70 to be 4-under-par along with Jager, with the New Zealand Amateur Champion carding rounds of 66-74.
Smith came into the British Amateur with runner-up finishes this Australian season at the Lake Macquarie Amateur and the Keperra Bowl. Despite suffering from flu like symptoms, Smith remains confident with his game moving into the elimination match play stage of the Championship which commences tomorrow at Formby.
“It’s taken a while for me to get use to the links layouts,” said Smith, currently ranked 25th in the world.
“To shoot two rounds under par here is great and I’m really please with the way things have turned out.”
After opening with a course record 6-under 66 yesterday at Formby Golf Club, Matt Jager fired a 74 on the West Lancashire layout.
“I felt good out there today,” said the world number 10 and Australia’s highest ranked amateur.
“Yesterday’s round did not have any effect on my game and I hit lots of good irons and executed my strategies well. I just had a few bounces that didn’t go my way and a few putts that just missed.”
Jager remains confident with his game, especially with his recent form in match play encounters.
“I’ve had a lot of match play success lately,” he says.
“I am looking forward to the challenge ahead.”
Jager will play Wales’ Rhys Encoh, a Walker Cup Squad member, who has been based at East Tennessee State University playing the tough US Collegiate circuit for the past year. This will be a stern test for Jager and should he progress through the opening round, I favour his chances to go the distance at this Championship.
Bryden Macpherson also made it through to the match play component, finishing in a creditable T19th with rounds of 75-68, along with Lincoln Tighe, who was in a tie for 52nd position after rounds of 71-75.
Daniel Nisbet made it through right on the bubble in a tie for 62nd position with rounds of 74-73, whilst Jason Scrivener was unfortunate to miss qualification after rounds of 75-74 to finish in a tie for 96th position.
Nisbet finds himself in a playoff match to progress to the main draw and having made his way this far in the Championship believes that he can regain the momentum to make a challenge.
“I have been playing great, just not getting the scores together,” says Nisbet.
“I now have to win six matches to get into the final and that’s is my goal.”
Nisbet intends to alter his strategy during the elimination match play contest and be more aggressive with his play, having felt that he’s been adopting the wrong style of course management during the stroke rounds here in Liverpool.
“I’ve been playing pretty conservative,” he says.
“It hasn’t been paying off, so the driver will come out more and I’ll be back to my old aggressive self from tomorrow onwards.”
The Championship has been good to the Australians so far and with five players progressing to the match play segment, this British Amateur is shaping up nicely for them.
