Some of WA’s brightest young amateur stars have shot to the top of the leader board during the opening round of the 2019 Nexus Risk WA Open.
Joondalup’s Connor McKinney fired five birdies on his way to an impressive opening round of 68 that sees him currently sitting T2. McKinney set the pace atop the leader board during a blistering front-nine that included birdies on four consecutive holes.
Hayden Hopewell (Royal Fremantle) joins McKinney at 4-under (T2) after also carding five birdies in his opening round.
A lone dropped shot at the 18th saw Hopewell relinquish the lead in what was otherwise an impressive opening round of golf for the teenager.
Tom Addy and Josh Greer are two other young Joondalup talents that find themselves in the mix. Addy rebounded strongly from three early bogeys to finish the day at 2-under.
Greer’s opening round started brilliantly with three birdies on the front-nine. Disaster soon struck on the back-nine as Greer carded three bogeys in four holes. A late Eagle on the 8th hole helped to arrest the slump and Greer ended the round at 2-under.
Mount Lawley youngster Kirsten Rudgeley has proved she can mix it with the pros after firing a solid round of 2-over. Kirsten is one of two amateur women in the field and she acquitted herself well whilst playing from the back tees. A slippery 5-metre birdie putt on her final hole found the bottom of the cup and capped off an impressive round.
Fellow amateur Kathryn Norris (Mandurah) finished at 4-over after starting with a bogey and two double-bogeys across her first four holes.
Today has shown an exciting glimpse into the future of West Aussie golf with a number of
