Arnold's 65 leads Riversdale Cup

BY Anthony Powter | Australian Mens Amateur Tour | 2008 Riversdale Cup | Round One | 07 Mar 2008

Scott Arnold fired a seven-under-par, 65 to lead the first round of the Riversdale Cup in Melbourne. The 2006 Hong Kong Amateur champion leads by a stroke from the current Australian Amateur champion, Rohan Blizard, who fired an opening 66.

Earlier in the day, Victorian Josh Younger carded a bogey free round of 67 and joins upcoming star Jason Scrivener, at 5-under-par. They’re closely followed by a group of three players at 4-under, including another emerging talent, Daniel Beckmann. Defending champion, Tim Stewart, is well positioned at 2-under-par, after an opening 70.

Conditions earlier had softened the greens, making scoring receptive and creating opportunities for the players to attack the tight Riversdale layout.

“There are opportunities out there to score well, particularly on the par 5’s, which are relatively short,” commented Younger.

“The field is just so strong, and I’ll expect that you see low scoring here. It’s the start that I hoped for and it’s now a matter of keeping going and hitting the fairways.”

Regarded as one of Australia’s main amateur tournaments, this year’s Riversdale Cup has attracted a stellar field, including New Zealand’s whiz-kid , and world no. 5, Danny Lee. The New Zealander is dangerously close to the leaders, at 3-under and will be looking to repeat his efforts at the Lake Macquarie Amateur, where he blasted away the field to claim the title.

Another upcoming player beginning to his mark is Victoria’s Daniel Beckmann. The 2007 Federal Amateur champion is currently at 4-under-par, and comes off a T3rd finish at the Tasmanian Open.

Beckmann’s game is strong in all departments and appears to be returning to form after a rather disappointing finish at the Lake Macquarie Amateur. He’ll certainly be a player to follow in this tournament, along with Jason Scrivener. Both are exciting talents emerging onto the Australian Amateur scene.

With the cut being determined after the third round, there’s plenty of opportunity for players to make a move over the coming days.

 

Position Score Player Country R 1 R 2 R 3 R 4 Total
1 -15 Scott Arnold 65 69 68 71 273
2 -15 Kieran Pratt 70 65 68 70 273
T3 -11 Brendan Smith 74 68 64 71 277
T3 -11 Rhys Mcgovern 70 71 66 70 277
5 -10 Jason Scrivener 67 72 70 69 278
T6 -9 Danny Lee 69 67 70 73 279
T6 -9 Matthew Griffin 72 68 71 68 279
8 -7 Peter Hall 71 68 69 73 281
T9 -6 Daniel Nisbet 73 69 69 71 282
T9 -6 Keir Mcnicoll 73 70 66 73 282