Four Aussies head to Hoylake
BY iseekgolf.com | Australasian PGA Tour | 2006 British Open International Final Qualifying | Final Round | 01 Feb 2006
Three young golfers are on their way to their first Open Championship and a veteran is set to play for the fourth time after an exciting two days of pre-qualifying at Melbourne’s famous Kingston Heath.
Brisbane’s Michael Wright, 32, a two time winner on the Von Nida secondary tour in Australasia showed the 53-man field a clean pair of heels with rounds of 69 and 66 to be nine under after 36 holes.
Melbourne veteran Bradley Hughes, 38, and former top local amateur, Ben Bunny, 27, who both grew up playing the famous sandbelt courses in the area , finished on six under after successive rounds over 69 over the superbly presented but tough Kingston Heath layout.
Adam Bland, 23, a country boy from Victoria, birdied the difficult 516-metre par five 14th hole to go to five under and shatter the dreams of four players waiting in the clubhouse on four under in the hope of being in a play-off.
“I had no idea what everyone else was doing but I had an inkling five under would be around the mark,” Bland said after playing a deft chip onto the 18th green to almost “gimmie” distance for his par and a spot in the Open Championship at Royal Liverpool Hoylake in July.
Wright said he had to pinch himself to make sure he wasn’t dreaming after cementing his place early in the day. One of his first tournament victories came in the NSW Open, at Liverpool west of Sydney.
“I’m aiming to make it a double,” he said with a grin. “I’ve won at Liverpool in Australia and now I’ll try to do it at Royal Liverpool in Britain.”
Bunny, who played with some success on the Canadian Tour last year, said a switch to an old two-ball putter – “one I vowed I’d never go back to” – had made the difference over the last couple of days.
“Now I’m off to the Open Championship, as far as I’m concerned the best golf tournament in the world.”
Bland, who topped the Von Nida Tour money list in Australia last year, said there was no way he would have been able to afford going to Hoylake to try to pre-qualify.
“Being able to do it here is a great initiative by the R & A,” he said. “I can now plan my year around it and start practising hard for the next six months.”
For Hughes it will be his fourth Open and his first since 1999. “This is a welcome change of fortune for me,” he said. “I’ve had a lot of personal stuff happening last year and that’s all behind me now. I’ll base myself in South Carolina and start trying to rebuild my career in the US. But knowing I’m already in The Open helps me to plan ahead. There’s no way I would have gone over to try to pre qualifying the old way. It’s just not on any more.”
After three years at the immaculately-groomed Kingston Heath the event will move to Sydney next year.
Source – PGA Tour
Photo – Anthony Powter
