Younger set for Australian Amateur Medal
BY Anthony Powter | Australian Mens Amateur Tour | 2008 Australian Amateur Championship | Round Three | 16 Apr 2008
The last time Josh Younger held the third round lead in a major amateur event, he went on to win the 2007 Mandurah Easter Amateur and the 24-year-old will be hoping the same fate is bestowed upon him during tomorrow’s final round of the Srixon Australian Amateur medal.
Younger fired a 3-under-par third round 70, to be 7-under-par, with a four shot margin over his nearest rival, England’s Daniel Willett who sits at 3-under-par and in outright second position.
Michael Foster, England’s Chris Wood, Brendan Smith and seasoned amateur, Grant Scott are together at 1-under-par, and T3. They’re followed by four other players at even-par and T7, including Jordan Sherratt and Matt Jager.
Younger had a dream start to the tournament with an opening round of 4-under-par 68 at The Grange Golf Club and then followed with rounds of 73-70 at Royal Adelaide.
“I’ve played consistent golf and not taken any risks this week,” said Younger.
“I know it kind of sounds boring, but around Royal Adelaide, you just have to be patient. I plan to play just simple golf tomorrow, nothing fancy. It’s the others that have to make up the ground, not me.”
Considered one of Australia’s best layouts, the general consensus amongst players is that Royal Adelaide has played tough, but fair. “When you have late afternoon starts, it gets tough out there with the wind,” remarked Michael Foster, currently T3 and six strokes behind Younger.
Well known for his aggressive style of play, Foster intends to tame the Seaton links, in a make or break final round effort.
“You can safely assume I will not be letting anything behind tomorrow. There’s a 67 or 68 out there and I’ll be gunning for it,” commented the 2007 US Rice Planters champion.
Yonger’s commanding four stroke lead will take some catching from the field. The Australian’s biggest challenge will stem from Willett, who was the 2008 Spanish Amateur champion and 2008 US Spirit International champion.
Willett plays out of Jacksonville State on the US collegiate circuit and ranked 16th in the Scratch Players World ranking, twenty-nine places higher than Younger’s 45th current ranking.
“I won’t be falling into a match-play situation with him [Willett] tomorrow,” remarked Younger. “My focus will simply be on my game and the course. The rest can try and make up the difference.”
The lowest score at Royal Adelaide to date is a 4-under-par 69, shared by Tim Stewart, Rohan Blizard, Jared Pender and France’s Victor Dubuisson. They are effectively out of contention for the Medal, however, remain within the top 32 for elimination match play.
The Australian Amateur medal is there for Younger’s taking, with the gap, barring a self-implosion by Younger, realistically too much for the majority of the field to make up. Should Younger stick to his game plan that he’s been playing all week of “simple but boring” golf, any score under par should be sufficient for him to claim the Medal.
The problem for Younger is there’s a talented Englishman within striking distance and a player that’s certainly capable of throwing down the challenge over the back nine at Royal Adelaide, where many a tournament has been won and lost.
