Jordan Spieth proved that even world number ones can be reduced to scrambling around a golf course by blustery winds after carding an even par 71 in the first round of the Australian Open on Thursday.
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He kick-started his round with a first hole birdie, managing three other birdies but also back-to-back bogeys at the 15th and 16th.
Matthew Jones leads the Australian Open by three strokes after the second round on Friday. “Given the conditions were tough, I still could have made the fairways, or taken less club to make sure I hit the fairway”.
Australia’s Tighe, with seven birdies and two bogeys, had a one-stroke lead after his 66, one of only 18 in the 156-player field who broke par at The Australian Golf Club. “I’ll be thinking about that if I have a chance coming down the stretch on Sunday”. “You can use the same club and end up with a 30-yard difference based on if you hold the ball up or ride the wind”.
The upset of the day was Peter Senior, who won his third gold jacket last weekend at the Australian Masters, the oldest at 56 to do so.
Adam Scott admitted to being mentally spent after his Australian Open push stalled with a rare birdie-free round today.
Former US Open champion Geoff Ogilvy coped better with the shifting wind and sweltering heat than most of the more feted golfers, recording a 68 for a share of third with Taiwanese amateur Yu Chun-An and compatriot Todd Sinnott. “I’m just getting more and more comfortable playing in the bigger tournaments”. “I feel like I’ve still got the best golf yet, to be played. that’s what’s positive”, he said.
The winds made scoring particularly hard on the par-3 second hole from an elevated tee – it was the toughest hole on the course Thursday.
Jordan Spieth of the USA gives fans a thumbs up after he hit an eagle on the 17th during the Austra …
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Scott won’t be in contention until he irons out his wedges that cost him at least five shots yesterday that included two doubles, two bogeys, and six birdies – a insane round. However, Spieth, who shot a final-round 63 on this course past year to win in similar conditions as the first two days, believes he can play spoiler. On the next hole, a par-3, his tee shot went through the green and he wasn’t able to get up and down for par, and he missed a four-footer for par on the 16th after an errant approach.
