Kulacz maintains momentum at Federal Amateur
BY Anthony Powter | Australian Mens Amateur Tour | 2006 Federal Amateur Open Championship | Round Three | 01 Oct 2006
Despite describing his third round today as “scrappy”, Western Australian Rick Kulacz still got the job done and takes a two shot lead into the final round of the Federal Amateur.
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The short game was the saving grace today for the National Squad Member, in a round that was punctuated with the odd wayward tee shot but with only one bogey.
“I struggled a little bit towards the end but only having one bogey for the day helped. It kept the big numbers off the card. All national events are important and you want to win anyone you can. There are always good fields in these and it’s very competitive and you have to be playing well to get a top 10.”
“The best part of my game today was scrambling as a few things went wrong out there. I’ve spent some time cooling down on the range this afternoon, trying to figure a few things out for tomorrow.”
At the beginning of the year Kulacz felt he needed to become more consistent as a player. 2005 was by all accounts was a solid year with wins in the South Australian Invitational, the medal at the Western Australian Amateur Championship and a win as the Bay of Plenty Open and the Waikato Winter Strokeplay, both in New Zealand.
2006 began well too with top ten finishes in the Tasmanian Open (4th), Riversdale Cup (2nd) and Mandurah Easter Amateur (9th). Whilst on the international front in America earlier this year there was a T4th position in the Dogwood Invitational as well as a number of low scoring rounds in major American amateur championships.
The final round in the Federal Amateur is another championship that now appears to be in the reach for Kulacz.
The nearest competitor Rika Batibasaga from Indooroopilly should not be discounted as a serious contender. Batibasaga won earlier in the year in Fiji and showed signs this morning that he is not afraid to give the driver a go on the shorter par 4’s that scatter Federal Golf Club.
There are a number of birdie holes up for the taking, especially on the par 5’s. That’s not to suggest the layout is by any means easy. The tight tree line fairways will swallow any wayward shot with little or no chance of a recovery shot. It’s a course that rewards straight hitting and is described by many of the players this week as tough but fair.
Six shots behind Kulacz is Won Joon Lee, a player renowned for big hitting and one who has used his length to great success in the past, most notably in this year’s NSW Amateur Championship.
Lee leaves this week for the Japan Open before going onto the World Amateur Championship in South Africa and joining fellow Australian Team members Andrew Tampion and Stephen Dartnall. He will be looking to grab every opportunity during the final round on the shorter holes, in an attempt to make up the deficit. Lee will play in the final group with Kulacz and Batibasaga and with this, will be able keep pace with the leaders.
Another player expected to make a move is Tristan Lambert, who’s indicated his intention to turn professional later this year. Lambert finished T4th at the Dogwood Invitation as well as recorded a number of low rounds during his American tour. Before leaving the amateur ranks you can be sure Lambert is eager to claim a National Selection event.
For the present, all the talk and focus is on Kulacz. Then again what Rika Batibasaga showed on the course today, possessing both a power and touch game, he is quietly sitting under the radar and does not mind that at all. More importantly he is within striking distance to create an upset come tomorrow evening and if that were to occur, he’ll be packing the wet weather gear for the UK next June.
Photo – Anthony Powter
