13 Dec 2023 | Amateur golf |
Jazy just keeps impressing
by Jimmy Emanuel
Have you ever watched, or competed with, someone so nonchalantly good at something it drives you to frustration? That is what it is like to watch young Victorian Jazy Roberts play golf.
Hailing from Bendigo, and arguably already Belvoir Park Golf Club’s finest export already at just 18, Roberts plays her golf with a simplicity and speed that belies the hard work that has gone into her impressive and still developing game.
In the conversation with Matt Jones as not just the quickest Australian player, but elite golfer on the planet, if you blink you will miss Roberts play. Some likely did that at the recent Australian Open where she placed 14th.
On Tuesday, as her Sandbelt Invitational round one co-leader Jack Thomson sat down to enjoy a bite to eat and wait for the green to clear at Peninsula Kingswood’s par-4 12th, Roberts swiftly had the tee in the ground and was ready to swish yet another drive in the fairway.
Her summation of her recent play was almost as simple as the way she goes about it.
“I played the Australian Open a few weeks ago and slowly getting used to it … being around the pros. Obviously this is a really exciting concept that I really enjoy playing,” Roberts said.
Having started this week by casually knocking her tee shot on the short par-4 first at Victoria and calmly two putting for birdie, Roberts remains in the hunt for the overall title, her eagle at the 18th to conclude the second round perfectly encapsulating what her game is all about.
Following groups of male pros who were somehow, much to Tournament Director Mike Clayton’s dismay, knocking their drives almost on the 405 metre hole, the Heritage Golf and Country Club member needed something with a headcover to reach in two. Before yet again finding the bottom of the cup from 20 feet to sign for 73 and a six-under total, five shots adrift of leader Daniel Gale.
The New South Welshman’s advantage might prove too much to haul in over the closing 36 holes at Yarra Yarra and Royal Melbourne, but she will give it her best, all the while enjoying herself and quietly learning.
Wednesday seeing her alongside two of the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia’s best performers this season in Gale and Lachlan Barker. The pair are likely to walk away impressed by Roberts’ game, speed of play and demeanour. All of which was cultivated in Bendigo by hitting balls from the backyard at trees over the fence … likely with not much time in between shots.
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