Barnes soars to Vic PGA lead

BY iseekgolf.com | Von Nida Tour | 2008 Victorian PGA Championship | Round Three | 02 Feb 2008

Two spectacular eagles on the back nine have catapulted the long-hitting New South Welshman Kurt Barnes into the lead after today’s third round of the nab Victorian PGA Championship at Sanctuary Lakes.

Barnes began his dazzling display of power golf by launching a huge drive from the 15th tee that reached the green of the 315-metre hole.

Barnes then spent some time lining up the tricky two-metre putt before calmly rolling it into the hole for a two.

The tee shot on 15 must carry a set of diagonally placed fairway bunkers and avoid several greenside bunkers in order to achieve such an astonishing feat.

Spectators waiting near the green later revealed that the Barnes drive actually shaved the hole on its way passed.

Four holes earlier he again thrilled the gallery by reaching a par five with two massive blows and one-putting for eagle.

Barnes has muscled his way to the top of the leader board with rounds of 65, 71 and 67 for a three-round total of 203 �€“ 13 under par.

Sharing second place one shot back are a group of three players �€“ Marc Leishman (67, 68, 69), 2004 Australian amateur champion Andrew Martin (69, 68, 67) and Queenslander Wayne Perske (67, 72, 65).

At ten-under par but also well in the hunt for the prestigious title are Victorian Rodney Booth and the veteran Queenslander Terry Price, who is on the comeback trail after sustaining a broken leg.

Barnes, a raw-boned 26-year-old from the Hunter Valley in NSW, is considered one of the longest hitters on tour with a club-head speed at impact reaching around 160kmh.

The former Queensland PGA Champion put a new driver in the bag last week after successfully completing a series of test sessions at the driving range.

“It feels really good off the clubface and with the ten degrees of loft I get a really good flight on the ball,” he explained.

“I just hope it keeps working as well tomorrow in the final round.”

Leishman, however, is also on the cusp of a timely victory in the Victorian PGA Championship after making a wonderful recovery on the last hole to salvage an unlikely par.

The 24-year-old from Warrnambool has finished second and third at his previous two attempts so is eager to have his name etched on the Jack Harris Cup alongside the legendary Peter Thomson and fellow Victorian Stuart Appleby.

A tall man with an elegant swing, Leishman displayed plenty of all-round game on moving day at the par 72 Sanctuary Lakes layout in Melbourne’s western suburbs.

Despite bogeying the opening hole, he quickly recovered lost ground with an eagle of his own on the fourth hole.

Leishman heads to Moonah Links on the Mornington Peninsula in two weeks time to begin his Nationwide Tour campaign.

“The goal is to win three Nationwide Tour events and get on to the main PGA tour that way,” said the man regarded as one of the up-and-coming stars of Australian golf.

“But a win tomorrow would be a great way to kick-start the new year.”

Bendigo boy Andrew Martin went bogey-free on a day where no-else did so.

“My round was really solid, especially considering the wind was swirling around quite a bit,” said the 23-year-old seeking his first big win the professional ranks.

“Most of my shots were pretty solid but whenever I missed a green my chipping came to the rescue.”

Final round of the 2008 nab Victorian PGA Championship gets underway tomorrow at Sanctuary Lakes Resort from 9.20am.

Source – PGA Australia