Nine Aussies line up for Players Amateur

BY Anthony Powter | US Mens Amateur Tour | 2009 Players Amateur | Preview | 09 Jul 2009

The Players Amateur is considered one of the most prized amateur majors in America. Previous winners include British Open Champion, Ben Curtis, Bill Haas and Camilo Villegas, all now PGA Tour players.

“It’s a great tournament, well run and always attracting a strong field,” commented 2009 Champion, Mark Anderson, winner of last year’s title with a record 22-under-par, that included a peerless final round of 10-under-par, 60.

“That was some finish there,” said Anderson from his South Carolina base earlier in the week.

“I feel confident with my game going into this event and have been experiencing some good form of late. It’s exciting to be playing this event and it has attracted probably one of the biggest fields so far this season. Hopefully I can get the putter rolling and post some low numbers.”

Anderson, winner earlier this year at the NEC Masters of the Amateurs after the third playoff hole against world number one, Rickie Fowler at Yarra Yarra in January, denied Matt Jager from collecting his maiden title last year at the Belfair Golf Club layout in Bluffton, South Carolina. Jager finished five strokes behind Anderson at 17-under-par for a creditable runner-up finish in his first season in the US.

Jager is not competing this week at The Players, The New Zealand Amateur Champion and Australia’s highest ranked world amateur at number 7 will return to play his first US amateur event with the Porter Cup starting 21 July.

Nine Australians will contest this year’s Players Amateur spearheaded by Daniel Nisbet who’s off a runner-up finish last week at the Sahalee Players Championship in Seattle.

“My game is a strong as it was during the Australian summer,” said Nisbet early in the week.

The runner-up finish at Sahalee was Nisbet’s first US hit out this season and he should start as one of the favourites this week in Bluffton. The world number 20 recorded four wins from four starts this Australian season and created history with the longest winning major Australian amateur title streak after securing the Golf SA Amateur Classic at Royal Adelaide, the Queensland Stroke and the Queensland Amateur and the Keperra Bowl in May.

“My putting has been a little inconsistent of late and this week I’ve been working on it. I’m striking the ball the best that I’ve ever done, so I’m confident with my game going into The Players.”

Daniel Beckmann will make his first US appearance this week and following some stellar performances during the Australian season, he will also be a player to watch this year in the US.

During the Australian season course records fell Beckmann’s way at the Tasmanian Open, Riversdale Cup and at Royal Queensland. In April Beckmann won his second National Trial event at the Mandurah Easter Amateur, a month earlier he secured a runner-up finish to Scott Arnold at the Australian Amateur at Royal Queensland.

“Hopefully I can put in a better performance this year in the US than last year,” says Beckmann.

“It’s always good to come over here and see the quality of the courses and the field. It’s a great experience and I’m looking forward to it.”

Ryan McCarthy is another who should perform strongly this week at The Players. An indiscretion last week at Sahalee cost the Tasmanian Amateur and Open Champions dearly, after he was disqualified following the opening round for inadvertently signing a wrong score card. McCarthy is eager to establish himself in the US and this tournament will be his first opportunity to exhibit the form he showed during the Australian summer with numerous top-10 finishes in National Trial events.

Michael Smyth is attending his first Players amateur and played the Belfair Golf Club layout this morning. He had nothing but praise for the way the course is presented and playing.

“The course this week is in awesome condition,” remarked Smyth, winner of the 2009 NSW Amateur Championship.

“Although the greens are just 12 months old, they are going to provide a big challenge as they are extremely firm and will be fast by the time the tournament starts. It’s my last event before returning home, so I keen to go off with a solid result.”

Luke Bleumink, Mitch Krywulycz, Tarquin MacManus, Ben Pisani and Jordan Sherratt are the remaining Australians competing this week.

Despite the tournament’s short life of nine years, the Players Amateur enjoys a world tournament ranking of 15 and is considered by many players as a main US amateur event. Aron Price won the event in 2004 and the field of Aussies competing this week will arguably be Australia’s strongest in any tournament this season in the US before some players make their return home.

This week is their chance to prove themselves against the might and depth that exists within the American amateur scene, in one of the most prestigious amateur events in the US. An event that is a sure test of golf and whoever holds the winner’s trophy on Sunday evening will be a true champion, lets hope it’s another Australian.