03 Sep 2022 | Amateur golf |
Aussies stagnate at World Amateur Team Championships
by Dane Heverin
Australia has fallen to 15th place on the Eisenhower Trophy leaderboard after they were unable to make progress on their total score of ten-under par in the third round of the World Amateur Team Championships in Paris.
After starting the day in a tie for seventh, Connor McKinney and Harrison Crowe's even-par rounds of 72 at Golf de Saint-Nom-la-Bretèche were the two counting scores, while Hayden Hopewell shot a round of 73, to trail leaders Sweden by 13 shots.
Friday proved to be a rollercoaster ride for the Australian trio with each of them submitting colourful scorecards.
McKinney is still the best of the Australians on the individual standings at five-under in a tie for 23rd and he appeared to be making a charge early in his round.
The Australian Amateur champion made back-to-back birdies at the second and third holes but that early good work was undone by double bogeys at six and nine, and a bogey at ten, before he clawed his way back with three back nine birdies.
Crowe remains at four-under for the tournament after he was unable to get going with four bogeys offsetting his eagle and two birdies, while Hopewell is now two-over after making six bogeys and five birdies on the day.
"It was an eventful round," Hopewell said. "There was a lot of birdies and a lot of bogeys on the card. I just struggled to find something steady out there, but I managed to birdie the last couple to salvage something from my round. I'll try and use a few of the feels I found out there heading into tomorrow."
The Australians return to Le Golf National, host venue for the 2018 Ryder Cup and the 2024 Olympic Games, for Saturday's final round and, even though they have accepted that their trophy dreams are over, the team is determined to finish on a positive note.
"I think we can play with total freedom," Crowe said. "We still have something to prove. We may not be in contention but we can still put a show on and really finish strong. I think we can go out there playing free golf, just have some fun, post a score and climb that leaderboard a little bit more."
Round 4 tee times - Le Golf National - Saturday 3 September AEST - * denotes beginning from tenth tee
9.03pm* Hayden Hopewell, Nicola Gerhardsen (Switzerland), Markus Luoma (Finland)
9.14pm* Harrison Crowe, Maximilien Sturdza (Switzerland), Antti-Jussi Lintunen (Finland)
9.25pm* Connor McKinney, Cedric Gugler (Switzerland), Elias Haavisto (Finland)
Follow the World Amateur Team Championships men's team scores here and the individual scores here.
Hear from Hayden and Harrison below.
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