14 Jan 2020 | National Championships |
Edgar joins leaders at men's #AusAm
by Martin Blake
Gold Coast star Josh Edgar is one of three players at the top of the leaderboard after the first round of the men’s Australian Amateur Championship in Brisbane today.
Edgar, 22, a senior at Georgia State University in America, came in late with a four-under-par 66 at Brisbane Golf Club to join England’s Ben Jones and Germany’s Laurenz Schiergen on top as the 36-hole strokeplay section of the event began.
The Queenslander, who was born in New Zealand, had four birdies and an eagle in his round.
He is no stranger to the bright lights, having been a highly-ranked amateur on the Gold Coast before taking up a college career.
Jones, who also compiled his round at Brisbane Golf Club, begun his day with a bogey after hitting his tee shot behind a tree, but an eagle from close range at the par-five at the ninth put him back on track.
It is his second trip Down Under although he noted the difference in conditions from Woodlands and Spring Valley in Melbourne last year.
“(It’s) very different, not as firm,’’ he said. “The grass is completely different, I’ve found the greens are a bit trickier to read because there’s so much grain, but I’m loving it here in Brisbane.”
There are four players at three-under par – Metropolitan’s Aiden Didone, New South Welshman Jordan Garner, New Zealander Jimmy Zheng and Germany’s Marc Hammer, while a further shot back a bunch including Perth young gun Hayden Hopewell and Queensland star Louis Dobbelaar are lurking.
The scoring is skewed by the fact that the players will alternate to another course on Wednesday, with those who played at Brisbane switching to Royal Queensland as the strokeplay section is completed. That includes Jones, the 20-year-old who is part of England’s elite programs.
“It’s nicer laying in the warm over here in Australia,” he said.
“There wasn’t much wind today, but the wind at RQ picked up in the practice round, I imagine it’s going to play a lot tougher although it’s not so demanding off the tee. I’m really looking forward to it.’’