Porter sets the pace at Moonah
BY iseekgolf.com | Australasian PGA Tour | 2008 Moonah Classic | Round One | 21 Feb 2008
Young Sydney golfer Ewan Porter revealed it was practicing his cricket technique that helped him in his late charge to the top of the leaderboard at the end of the opening day of the Moonah Classic at Moonah Links in Victoria today.
The 25-year-old closed with a 5 under 67 to take the outright lead by one shot and said it was having fun and not beating himself up that helped him relax and take poll position for round two.
“Usually my bad habit always been that as soon as I get near the leaderboard I am writing out my winners speech”, joked Porter after the round. “My goal this week has been to have a bit of fun with my caddy out there. Usually if I’ve hit a bad shot in between shots I am trying to figure out what I did wrong with my golf swing. Today I was actually working on my cricket technique in between instead. Maybe that’s the key!”
It may be unconventional but it worked! He became the second player to get to five-under-par for the day after Fabian Gomez had done so earlier in the afternoon, but unlike the Argentine he managed to stay there as he finished with a 67.
Starting on the 1st just after one thirty, Porter had a slow start and was even at the turn but a flurry of birdies including four straight from the 13th to the 16th saw him move to 5 under and atop the leaderboard by one shot from American Fran Quinn. A further shot back is Argentinian Fabian Gomez and American Chris Kirk tied for third followed by aussies Paul Sheehan, Paul Marantz, Terry Price, Rick Kulacz and Kiwi Mahal Pearce in a group of seven tied fifth on 2 under.
Porter who had his best ever season on the Australasian Tour in 2007, finishing 16th on the Final Order of Merit was pleased with the way he approached his game today in difficult conditions.
“I surprised myself. It sounds like a cliché but I just let it happen out there” said the 25 year old from Cronulla in Sydney’s South. “I really did a good job of staying in the present and focusing because that’s usually my worst habit, getting ahead of myself.”
Surprisingly Porter revealed that he was attending his first career press conference at the Moonah Classic, but his form in the past few months including a T7 at the Australian Open in December and qualifying for the Open Championship for the second successive year last month is indicative of the way his game is headed.
He played at the Australian Open in 2003 at Moonah Links, but missed the cut and finds himself in the position of leading an Australasian event after the first round for the first time.
“I guess you could say I am slowly starting to mature. I’ve been a pro for five and a half years but I really only think I’m starting to find my feet now. I really feel like I belong out there and I really am playing well and I feel this is a golf course that suits me.”
In outright second place is American Fran Quinn.
Starting at the tenth tee, forty two year old Quinn, playing in his 275th Nationwide Tour event, took the lead late in the day after birdying two of the last four holes. He was one under at the turn after two bogeys on the opening nine and despite a bogey at the par 4, 13th he picked up four birdies coming home to finish on 4 under.
“I played exceptionally well all day”, said the Massachusetts native who is in his 20th year as a professional. “I was two under right out of the gate which was a really good start in that wind.
“The conditions were pretty difficult. The wind was blowing and a lot of it was cross wind. If you had told me at the start of the day that I was gonna be under par at the end of the day I would have signed up for that and never hit the golf course!”
Australians Jarrod Moseley and Wade Ormsby, Kiwis Michael Long and Bradley Iles and American Ricky Barnes ended the day at one-under, and last-start New Zealand PGA Championship winner Darron Stiles heads those at even par.
Won-Joon Lee and Jarrod Lyle, the latter fresh from his recent Mexico Open win, had days to forget as each shot 73, but Lyle’s disappointing score came about largely as a result of a triple bogey at the eighth, after he had been tied for the lead at two-under the card.
Several other expected challengers also found their share of trouble, including Steven Bowditch (74), Kiwi Steve Alker (74), Peter O’Malley (74), Peter Senior (74), Scott Draper (78), Greg Chalmers (78) and New Zealander David Smail (78).
Round two of the Moonah Classic begins tomorrow at 7:15am.
