Grady, Merriman on top at Handa Open
BY iseekgolf.com | Australian Seniors Tour | 2008 Handa Open | Round Two | 01 Nov 2008
The 2008 Handa Open is seeing history repeat itself with defending Champion Wayne Grady finishing square after the first two rounds alongside 2007 rival and runner up, David Merriman. Grady and Merriman are no strangers to playing together on the final day of the Handa Open with Grady taking out the prestigious Australian Senior Open title in a tight finish.
Difficult weather conditions prevailed in the first round on Friday with temperatures soaring to 38 degrees and winds gusting at almost 40km/hr. It was a long and gruelling day for all players with the perfectly conditioned Concord Golf Club proving to be a stern test. Going in to round two, only two players were below par with New Zealander Stuart Reese on 2 under and Queenslander Randall Vines one shot back.
Reese showed immense strength playing in the trying afternoon conditions and impressed the galleries with his below par performance. Three others in David Merriman, Roger Stephens from South Australia and Stewart Ginn finished their first round on even par.
Saturday provided easer scoring conditions for players but the speed of the greens kept them on their toes for the majority of the day and saw scores tighten atop the leaderboard. Grady got off to a somewhat shaky start with a bogey on the second hole but recovered nicely birdying the 167 metre par 3 fourth hole. With another birdie on the 9th, Grady turned at one under par and finished his round with 9 pars to finish one under for the day.
Fellow leader David Merriman birdied the second and fifth holes but an unfortunate bogey on the 8th also saw him turn one under par. Merriman showed his consistency on the back nine parring the next 8 holes but once again a disappointing bogey on the last saw him finish even par for the day and tournament and level with Grady going in to the third and final round.
New South Welshman George Serhan, Stewart Ginn and Stuart Reese also had strong rounds and will prepare for their final round with Serhan 1 shot back and Ginn and Reese two shots behind the leaders. Ginn’s vast international experience should see him challenge the leaders on Sunday for the national senior open title that goes with the Handa Open trophy.
The public are welcome to the Sunday afternoon shootout at Concord Golf Club which will see true Legends of Australian golf walking the fairways together and battling it out for the iconic title of the 2008 Handa Open. Leaders will tee off at 12noon at Concord Golf Club on Majors Bay Road in Concord, Sydney. Admission is a gold coin donation towards Concord Junior Golfers.
Source – Handa Open
