By David Tease

A confident Harrison Crowe, back from a hit-and-run mission to Augusta, Georgia, for next month’s Masters has declared himself ready to go in defence of his PLAY TODAY NSW Open Crown.

“There’s a lot has happened in the last 12 months, and it kind of kicked off really at this event last year,” Crowe reflected. “It’s been a bit of a whirlwind!”

And what a whirlwind year it was. First, the NSW Amateur, then the NSW Open at Concord, and in November, victory in the Asia Pacific Amateur locked away the 22-year-old’s trip to the famed cathedral in the Pines.

"This is a very surreal feeling, I suppose, or an unusual feeling because I’m back as a defending champion," Crowe said.

“I haven’t experienced it before, and I think the nerves definitely will be there. But knowing that I’ve done it before is going to strive me to have another great week, purely just from what I did last year.”

Crowe has been somewhat of a jet-setter over the last month or so. In preparation for his Masters’ tilt, he has spent the last few weeks in the United States getting a glimpse of what will lay ahead in April. He arrived back in Sydney just last Thursday and will spend little more than a week here before returning to the States.

“It’s pretty surreal,” Crowe said when asked to describe what it felt like to be there after years of only watching the tournament on TV.

“You see it all on TV, how well it’s manicured and how everything works. It’s a different kind of feeling when you’re playing the course, and it’s quite long.

“TV definitely doesn’t do it justice. I mean, I went a month prior and nothing really looks out of place. It’s pretty, pretty surreal.”

Crowe said the reconnaissance mission was effective, and he realised a few areas of his game would have to be on point.

“It’s quite long, and there’s a lot of new tees, so I know my Driver must be perfect. You’ve got to chip it well and be a bit creative, too, but I like that sort of golf," he said.

With his game trending in the right direction, Crowe said the experience of Rich River this week would be a big help when he flies out next week.

“I’ve been posting the best results that I have seen for a while and everything’s just been slowly getting put in place, it feels really nice and hopefully I’m starting to peak at the right time," he said.

“I know it’s different to last year (at Concord), but it feels like there’s not a lot of difference with this golf course, either.

“It’s in awesome condition out here, so if you can take advantage off the tee, you’re going to have a lot of opportunities here.

“The greens are really true, so if you miss putts, you’ve got no one else to blame but yourself.”