The opening round of the 2019 Nexus Risk WA Open has served up drama right until the final putt was holed.
Playing in the last group of the day in tough conditions, South Korea’s Chang Gi Lee was storming to the top of the leader board until disaster struck on his final hole.
Lee accidentally hit the wrong ball from a fairway bunker, a costly mistake that incurred a two-shot penalty and eventually saw him card double-bogey and sign for a round of 69.
Earlier in the day, Shae Wools-Cobb fired a blemish-free opening round to sit alone atop the leader board.
Wools-Cobb took full advantage of the calm conditions in the morning to fire off five birdies and managed to keep a clean scorecard that now seems him sitting one shot clear on top of the leader board.
Some of WA’s brightest young amateur stars are also in contention after Round 1.
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 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.
The ever-reliable Daniel Fox started strongly with four early birdies. Another birdie on the back-nine was cancelled out by a dropped shot at 12 that saw the West Aussie sign for a four-under round of 68.
Fellow local Rick Kulacz matched Fox’s score of 68 and sits in a good position heading into Friday’s second round.
The marquee grouping of Brett Rumford and Jarryd Felton faced a much sterner test of golf in the afternoon as the wind picked up and played havoc with some afternoon scorelines.
With a good-sized gallery following the group around, Rumford’s tournament got off to a rocky start with two bogeys on his opening two holes. A third bogey soon followed on the 15th (his 6th hole) and disaster loomed for the former champion.
Much to the delight of the crowd, Rumford reeled off four consecutive birdies that helped to revive his round. A late double-bogey would sour the mood and Rumford eventually signed for an even-par opening round of 72.
Jarryd Felton’s opening few holes proved to be anything but boring. The WA local carded four bogeys and two birdies across his opening seven holes in a rocky start to his tournament.
Felton settled on his back-nine and hit two birdies and an eagle to end the day at 2-under in a tie for 16th.
Ollie Goss has made a positive return to competitive golf after a long leave of absence from the game. Goss’ carded five birdies and just the two bogeys and finds himself in a large group of players at 3-under.
The action will continue tomorrow morning from 6:50 am as Round 2 gets underway at Cottesloe Golf Club. Entry is free all tournament long and we encourage everyone to come out to Cottesloe to witness some wonderful golf.
