MacManus tied 3rd at Southern Amateur

BY Anthony Powter | US Mens Amateur Tour | 2009 Southern Amateur Championship | Round Four | 20 Jul 2009

Tarquin MacManus secured his second top-10 finish at a major US amateur tournament in as many starts after the Queenslander carded a 12-under-par to finish in a tie for 3rd at the Southern Amateur Championship at the Colonial Country Club in Tennessee.

MacManus, 18, is currently based at University of Arizona and equalled the final day’s low round with a 5-under-par 67, after earlier rounds of 70-68-71 to be four strokes behind eventual winner, American Gregor Main.

Main finished strongly despite a long day at the course. Rain delays from earlier in the week still had the tournament off schedule going into the final round.

The victory earned Main, a sophomore at UCLA and the 2009 Pac-10 Freshman of the Year, an exemption to play at the PGA Tour’s Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill next March. It will be his second career PGA Tour event after the world number number 32 made the cut at the Buick Open at Torrey Pines last February.

The rain affected tournament certainly took its toll on the high class field, with MacManus feeling the effects of interrupted play and with that, the inability to get the momentum flowing out on the course.

“I was hitting lots of fairways and greens and had the momentum going,” said MacManus.

“But to be honest I just could not buy a putt out there. Play got suspended due to darkness and I had four holes left in my third round. Then the final round was all catch-up.”

“That kind of stopped things a bit and I was sitting at 4-under for my round through seven holes at the time of the delay. Overall it’s a great result for me and I felt like I had my chances out there, just that my putting hurt me.”

MacManus finished the best of the four Australians playing the Southern Amateur.

Jordan Sherratt finished in a tie for 30th at 2-over-par after rounds of 69-72-71-74, Matthew Giles missed the cut finishing at 8-over-par along with Brendan Smith.

With two top-10 finishes from two starts, MacManus is primed for next week’s Porter Cup at Niagara Falls starting 21 July. The Porter Cup is ranked 6th in world amateur tournaments and following the last fortnight of golf, MacManus feels confident with his game in what is effectively his first season playing the major US amateur events.

“I have a busy few months ahead,” says MacManus.

“I go from here to the Porter Cup, then back to Arizona for the Pacific Coast Amateur, then the Western Amateur in Chicago followed by the US Amateur qualification back in Arizona, then hopefully the US Amateur.”

Despite the rain interruptions this week in Tennessee, MacManus leaves the Southern Amateur with a game that is on the improve. His confidence is on a high and with the main US Amateur events set to unfold over the next month, he is timing his peak to perfection.

“I’m hitting the ball really well,” says MacManus.

“If I can just get my putting going and get the ball rolling, I feel like that I have a chance if I keep hitting it the way that I am.”