Australians dominate Dogwood Invitational
IN: News | US Mens Amateur | Dogwood Invitational (2006) | Round Two | by Anthony Powter | 29 Jun 2006
For an amateur event immersed in American tradition that dates back to 1941, the Dogwood Invitational is seen as one of the prized American amateur majors on tour. It is somewhat a reflection of the depth of Australian amateur golfing talent, that for the first two days of the tournament they have held the lead.
Whilst well known players like Mitchell Brown dominated the first round, the British Amateur semi-finalist hit a snag on the second day, the first for Brown this season. A second round 78 resulted in his demotion from overnight lead to T38 and this was following a opening 65 and a share of the lead on the first day.
Brown this season has been one of our most consistent performers, both locally and on the international stage, and his second round performance was a most uncharacteristic result, in particular his recent performance in the British Amateur.
Lucky for Australian fans, Brown's first round lead was backed up by fellow Australian, Rudi Bezuidenhout, who after rounds of 66 and 68 is the leader in the Dogwood Invitational by a single shot, at 10 under.
Bezuidenhout plays out of Belmont Golf Club, south of Newcastle in NSW, and is considered a quiet achiever within the amateur ranks. Always present in an event with top 10 finishes in 2006 in the Lake Macquarie Amateur, Mandurah Easter Open, the NSW Medal Championship and the South Australian Invitational. Bezuidenhout is yet to crack a big event and a win at the Dogwood will be his biggest achievement to date.
Another promising Australian amateur in contention is Rick Kulacz.
Kulacz, after rounds of 66 and 70, is only two off the pace at 8 under. The Western Australian has yet to fire in the US major amateur events, despite showing considerable promise in Australia earlier this summer.
Following Bezuidenhout and Kulacz is a swag of Australians, including Tristan Lambert, Australia's number one ranked amateur, Won Joon Lee who are at both 5 under. Mitchell Brown has slipped back to one under. Jamie Arnold and Rohan Blizard T52 are both at 2. Whilst back in the field are Andrew Tampion and Scott Grant, who share T58th position along with Andrew Dolt and Justin Roach at T66 at 4.
With the field limited to qualified invitees and the host of top American amateurs, the Dogwood Invitation has become part of the training ground for Australians.
Adam Scott had a shot at the title whilst an amateur as did Andrew Buckle, who is experiencing a solid year as a professional, with a win earlier this year on the Nationwide Tour at the Virginia Beach Open. Buckle won the Dogwood Invitational in 2002, becoming the first Australian to claim the title.
The Dogwood Invitational now heads into the business end of the Championship and with eleven players within three of the leader, the tournament is wide open. Given the breath of Australian talent, there is a solid chance one of our players will be in the running on the final day and hopefully repeat Andrew Buckle's performance of four years earlier to claim the championship from the Americans.
Photo - Anthony Powter
