Grant closes in on Hart at Federal
BY Anthony Powter | Australian Mens Amateur Tour | 2011 Federal Amateur Open Championship | Round Three | 07 Mar 2011
Sydney’s Kyle Grant narrowed the margin from eight to just two strokes from tournament leader, Tim Hart, after firing a 4-under-par, 68, during the third round of the Federal Amateur in Canberra.
Grant, who’s being a stalwart of the Mona Vale Pennant Team for a number of years, is one of the few elite Sydney amateurs that made the trip to Canberra and the benefits appear to be flowing. His rounds of 74-73-68 has in at 1-under-par to be with Hart as the only two players under par for the championship.
Hart has led this championship since Friday’s first round after scores of 69-70, and was the only player under par going into Sunday’s third round. A 2-over-par 74 third round by Hart has resulted in this Federal Amateur being anything but a closed affair as he fell from 5-under-par to be currently at 3-under-par moving into Monday’s final round.
Ranked 391st in the world, Grant’s best tournament finish was a tied 2nd back in January at the Avondale Medal in Sydney and he’s also bagged a top-10 finish at the 2010 Riversdale Cup. During the 2009 Queensland Amateur Grant also played solid golf to record a 4th place finish in the Medal and in 2010 made it through to the top 16 at the NSW Amateur.
Grant’s third round move has created the pressure the championship was after and brought it back from turning into a one player affair after Hart appeared to be steamrolling his way to his first main amateur win in Australia.
Sunday’s round of 4-under-par by Grant was one of just four sub-par rounds at Federal made, as scores in the high 70’s were common around the Red Hill layout.
Jin Jeong’s woes continue with the world number 6 and reigning British Amateur champion recording rounds of 78-77-77 to be 16-over-par. Jeong will be looking to regain some of the seller form he exhibited last season in Australia where he won two National Selection events, the Tasmanian Open and Riversdale Cup and was runner-up in another at the Keperra Bowl. This was not the lead in Jeong was after with the defence of his Riversdale Cup starting this Friday, the Australian Amateur the following week and the invitation to The Masters to prepare for that came about from his win at the British Amateur at Muirfield Golf Club last June.
This year’s Federal Amateur has taken a new twist and it sets the stage for an intriguing finish.
Tim Hart, the perennial ‘bridesmaid’ of Australian men’s amateur golf after runner-up finishes at at the 2009 Mandurah Easter Amateur, the 2008 NSW Amateur Championship, the 2009 Federal Amateur, 2009 Victorian Amateur, 2010 Queensland Amateur and the 2010 Port Phillip Amateur, striving for his first main win with the likes of Kyle Grant eager to also claim his first main title and in the process deliver another body blow to Hart.
