Golf Update; First round highlights of WA PGA Championship
The first round of the WA PGA Championship kicked off in Western Australia on Thursday. Here is the recap of the inaugural, which took place at the Bunbury Golf Club.
Two Aussies surged into lead in the first round despite terrible weather conditions. Luke Hickmott and Stephen Dartnall smashed an identical score of 66. The duo teed off in the morning in strong rain. However, the match came to
a halt of fifty minutes, but by the time game resumed both the veterans had set a strong chase for rest of the field.
Stephen Dartnall, who hails from Western Australia, took the first step into lead by opening the tournament with an eagle in the second hole of par-5. With a gap of three holes, the former world amateur No. 1 shot three birdies
before closing the last hole of the front nine with a par. On his journey of the back nine, the player sandwiched a bogey between two more birdies and wrapped the round with a score of 6-under-par.
Speaking to the press Dartnall said, “The rain didn’t disrupt my round very much, you have no choice but to deal with it. The greens slowed down a little and it got a bit softer but they still rolled well. The challenge is to try
and do this for three more days. You just have to put yourself in a position where you can win because the more you do that the better your chances.”
On the other hand, Luke Hickmott who is a resident of Victoria stood firm on wet greens with a putter in his hand. The player drafted a marvellous round with accuracy and hence reached 8 out of 10 fairways. In his first round,
Hickmott picked up eight birdies against two bogeys to level heads with the leader. The player is not new to low scoring as he made a course record of 11-under-61 in the first round of the Victorian PGA Championship, which took place at Sanctuary Lakes last
season.
The Victorian has been playing in Canada and is looking forward to attending the second stage of US Tour School.
Commenting on his form and future plans Hickmott said, “I was in Hawaii for the first stage of tour school finishing second, and I go back in two weeks time for the second stage. My game is in good shape and I feel ready to move
up to the challenge of a bigger international tour. I don’t have problems shooting low scores but my problem has been consistency and finishing off tournaments. I have been working on that this year and I’m looking forward to doing it this week.”
In the second place were three players, Jordan Sherratt, Brad Kennedy and Hamish Robertson. The trio shot 67 with the help of six birdies to step a shot back.
According to the experts, the winner of the WA Open, Kennedy possesses a very strong form and chances are that the player grabs one more victory on his way back home. This is the second professional event for the rest two players and
with such a strong start, the stakes are high for a glorious career.
The event carrying a winner prize of $110,000 kicked off on Thursday at a course, which is situated in the serene locale between the Collie River and the Leschenault Estuary. Luke Hickmott and Stephen Dartnall took the early lead
despite hurdles posed by rain and wind prevailing on the course. They were chased by a trio at 67. Most of the field failed to tackle the rain and the greens, thereby, producing the worst scores of the course history. Eight players carded a score in 80s, whereas,
112 players posted scores in 70s.
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