Griffin leads into final day at Keperra

BY Anthony Powter | Queensland Mens Tour | 2008 Keperra Bowl | Round Three | 15 May 2008

Matthew Griffin is again in contention to collect another National Trial victory as he heads into the final round of the Keperra Bowl. Griffin fired a third round 71, to be at 11-under-par, two shots ahead of young guns, Jason Scrivener and Jordan Sherratt, who recorded rounds of 70 and 66, respectively.

Griffin will be seeking to claim his second major Australian amateur title this week, after he claimed the Mandurah Easter Amateur back in March. Throughout the Australian season Griffin has been in contention in at least five National Trial events and has recorded six top-10 finishes from seven starts.

“All season I’ve been in contention and to top off the final event here in Australia before heading overseas will cap off a great season for me,” remarked Griffin, ranked 12th in the world under the Scratch Players ranking system.

“Even though Tim [Stewart], Scotty [Arnold] and Rohan [Blizard] are not playing this week, it’s still a quality field and anyone within four shots can go out there tomorrow and shoot a 64 or 65.”

With eight players within four strokes of Griffin, the Keperra Bowl remains an open affair. Those within striking distance, including Jason Scrivener and Jordan Sherratt, know the opportunity is still there to collect their maiden win.

“I’m not changing my game plan tomorrow,” remarked Scrivener, the 2007 Australian Junior Champion. “You must be aggressive out there as there’s too many good players capable of shooting a low number and passing you.”

Sherratt, the South Australian Amateur Medal winner agrees with Scrivener. “There’s no room to make an error as you’ll get passed by. I’m going out hard and seeing what comes off.”

The way this year’s Keperra Bowl has panned out is reflective of the current depth of Australian male amateur golf.

It’s exciting times with the like of Scrivener and Sherratt nipping at the heals of more seasoned players like Griffin.

The next wave of talent are getting noticed, their biggest challenge will be overcoming one of the most consistent amateur players in the world, Matthew Griffin.

Tomorrow’s final round will be a chance for one of Australia’s up and coming stars to step up and take the last National Selection Event of the season. Some of the players will be heading overseas to Europe and the USA shortly and a win here would do their confidence the world of good, prior to taking on the world’s best.

The leaders tee off at 10:00am with the finish expected at approximately 2:15pm.