Daniel Popovic on top of the world at Australian PGA Championship
Daniel Popovic could not believe his own luck when he opened the Australian PGA Championship with a breath-taking 64 on the leaderboard. The crowd could not believe what they were seeing either.
"That was some of the best golf that I've played in my life. There were times there where I even surprised myself of how confident I was with the way that I was hitting it,” said Popovic.
The thing is Popovic has come to the field with a promise to deliver. Not just your regular, every day sunny-afternoon golf, he has promised to up the aggressiveness of his game at the Australian Professional Golf Association Championship.
There is another thing about Popovic. He does not take promises lightly and knows how to keep them. A look at his mother will tell you that. She could barely keep her eyes from getting wet.
"Mum told me she couldn't watch - she was in tears," said the 26-year old of the heart-stopping first round. "Dad was in hospital today having some more blood tests done".
The second round was not up to the high mark Popovic set for himself, but was enough to keep him in the top slot and the others envious.
He hit a double bogey on the 15th hole. "The 15th, I just can't get my head around it," said Popovic. In response to the drop, he told his caddie, "let's make birdie on the next".
Despite his intent to recover quickly with a birdie on the next, he failed. Nevertheless, he still managed to cement his place atop the leaderboard.
"I'm stoked. I can't get the smile off my face," said Popovic after the game. He said his play was just as brilliant as in the first round and he was bursting with confidence.
He also admitted to being inspired by Geoff Ogilvy’s golf and shared that the watch-and-learn routine helped him improve his own play.
"Just seeing how he goes about things. He has won a major - there isn't really that much of a step," he said in Ogilvy’s praise.
This could be the last tournament held here at Coolum as the 11-year run at the Sunshine Coast comes to a crashing end. Popovic hopes to make it a memorable one.
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