Nick in his happy place
Revelation rises for share of lead
AUSTRALIAN journeyman Nick Flanagan says will not change his mentality as he enters what could be a careerboosting weekend at the Vic Open.
Flanagan shares the top of the leaderboard with Jason Scrivener at 14-under after shooting a four-under 68 on the Beach course yesterday.
It puts him in a strong position going into the final two rounds, with victory securing him a card on the European Tour.
The 2003 US Amateur champion has endured an upand-down career thanks mainly to injury.
The former US PGA Tour player had retired from golf, but his passion for the sport was reignited after caddying for mate Aron Price at the 2016 US Open.
He then started the long road back to the top, scoring Australian PGA Tour status through Q-school in 2017.
But injury and struggles with the mental side of the game have limited his ability to contend since.
Flanagan has been a revel- ation at this year’s Open, with yesterday’s performance coming on the back of a stunning 10-under on the Creek course in the opening round.
However, he is happy to keep his mental game simple, despite a ticket back to the top being on the line.
“The thing I am working on at the moment is just really being kind of happy with the effort I am making on every shot and not worrying about the result,” Flanagan said.
“It’s cliche, but it works. So my goal is to get to the end of the round and be happy with what I have done between the ears.
“If it’s a 74 or a 64 it doesn’t really matter. That’s the goal for the weekend.”
West Australian Scrivener believes “patience” will be the key to winning this year’s Victorian Open.
He thrived in good scoring conditions, firing a six-under round of 66 on the Beach course to secure his share of the lead, one ahead of Wade Ormsby.
Predicted 42km/h winds are going to make scoring significantly tougher today.
“I think, yeah, just patience really,” Scrivener said when asked what they key would be to winning this year.
“The golf course has been pretty benign the last two days, so definitely aware that it can get up and the scoring can get a lot tougher.”