A 19 – strong contingent have descended on the famed Royal Adelaide Golf Club to tackle one of the most prestigious junior golf tournaments of the season, the South Australian Junior Masters.
A steamy morning with light winds soon turned into baking heat; with the temperature reaching 36 degrees just before lunch, GolfSA officials made the call to cancel the second round of the 72 hole tournament.
As the temperature gauge soared, things also started heating up on the golf course. Josh Greer (Joondalup) went through holes 9 to 11 in four under par, including a spectacular eagle on the par four 11th. Connor McKinney (Mandurah) also birdied holes 8, 10 and 12 to get to two under par before making four more birdies, mixed with two bogies, to finish alongside Greer at four under par. Greer and McKinney are one stroke behind leader Zach Maxwell (Queensland) who carded a five under par 67.
Maddison Hinson Tolchard (Gosnells) also caught fire as the day went on – starting with a birdie, the reigning Callaway Junior champion carded three more birdies before a bogey – birdie bounce back on the 14th and 15th to finish the day at four under par and first round leader. Kathryn Norris (Mandurah) was leading at three under par early, before a couple of late setbacks meant she finished two off the pace at two under par, alongside Kirsten Rudgeley (Wanneroo). Rudgeley got off to a shaky start, mixing bogies with birdies, however settled with birdies on the 12th, 15th and 18th before a solid end to ensure her position in the top three.
Connor Fewkes (Goldfields) carded an even par round with Cooper Geddes (Mandurah) at one over; both boys will be confident going into tomorrow’s marathon day knowing they are still in the mix. Abbie Teasdale (Royal Fremantle) carded a one under par round, including five birdies, whilst Yeah – Jin Lee (Royal Perth) finished at one over par to both remain in the hunt for their maiden National Ranking titles.
Play commences tomorrow at 7am, with the leaders out at 8.36am. Leaderboards can be found at www.golf.org.au/golfsa
Can you tell me a little about your round today?
Josh Greer
“I scrambled well early on and took advantage of the good shots when I hit them. My eagle on the 11th hole was the highlight – I hit a soft seven iron from 160 yards and it managed to trickle into the hole! I stayed patient throughout the day and managed to put a good round together”.
Connor McKinney
“I took the chances when had them – hit only 9 greens this morning and made 7 birdies, all within 15 feet of the hole. My scrambling was solid all day and kept the momentum going”.
Maddison Hinson Tolchard
“I have working hard with (primary coach) Ritchie lately so good to see the work paid off today! My mental attitude was key – I stuck to my processes which helped me to a solid round. On the 15th hit a hybrid in close for eagle which was nice”.
What is your plan for tomorrow?
Josh Greer
“I will plan to stay patient, there is still a lot of golf to be played. We are expecting bad conditions in the morning so will prepare well tonight and ready to go tomorrow”.
Connor McKinney
“Yeah, the same plan as Josh. I will prepare for the conditions and stay patient – everyone will have a bad hole at some point so whoever will remain calm will win. It’s a long day so will plan to take my chances when I can”.
Maddison Hinson Tolchard
“Make sure I take care of my nutrition and hydration – it’ll be a long day. I took some notes from today’s round so I’m hoping to stick to my plan and do more of the same”.
