Tweed pro Jordan in mix after finish
A SPECTACULAR birdiealbatross finish catapulted Tweed Heads pro Damien Jordan back into contention at the Queensland Open just as he was cursing a dog of a day at Brisbane Golf Club.
Jordan jumped 24 places into the top 10 late yesterday with two holes of brilliance to be part of the posse chasing leader Michael Sim (69-66).
Sim holed a 6.5m eagle putt on his final hole for his five-under-par 66 to tame the tricky winds and slick greens.
Jordan banged his drive down the left side of the same hole, the 445m ninth, to leave himself a sand wedge down breeze into the par five.
“The drive went a bit further than I thought,” said Jordan, whose 70-70 start places him ninth with 36 holes left.
“I had 97-98m to the pin, hit the flag with a sand wedge and it went in. “It’s my first albatross ever so I’m pretty excited.”
Jordan, 37, is enjoying a breakout year to redefine his life through golf and his young family after two confronting tours as a soldier in Iraq.
Sustained form since his Victorian PGA victory in February means he will play the Australian Open and Australian PGA this summer.
At seven-under, Sim leads by a stroke from NSW duo Ben Clementson (67-69) and Troy Moses (68-68) while Redcliffe’s Doug Klein had a fine 67 to be top amateur in 11th.
At 33, Sim is heading into a busy 12 months with wife Simone expecting their first child in February and the prospect of a career rebirth in Japan.
“I’ve probably been treading water golf-wise for four or five years but I’ve been working really hard to get ready for qualifying school in Japan,” said Sim, who flies to Tokyo in a week.
Leaders Sim, Moses and Clementson will tee off at 11am today. Entry is free.
IT’S MY FIRST ALBATROSS EVER SO I’M PRETTY EXCITED
DAMIEN JORDAN ON HIS ROUND