Chisnall still in the hunt in Melbourne

Kiwi golfer Ryan Chisnall has lost his share of the lead but is not out of the reckoning at the Australian Amateur Championships in Melbourne.

The Nelson amateur was tied for the lead after the first day on Tuesday, but shot a three-over par 73 at the Peninsula Kingswood Golf Club yesterday to be two shots off the lead and two shots under overall, having shot five bogeys and two birdies.

The tournament is at the Peninsula Kingswood Golf Club (par 72) and Yarra Yarra Golf Club (par 70).

Also tied for third is Australian Kieren Jones.

Leading the field is Kevin Yuan from New South Wales, who has a one-shot lead over Min-Woo Lee from Western Australia. Yuan was four-under par after consecutive rounds of 69.

Fellow Kiwi Nick Coxon has jumped into a share of 12th place despite shooting two over. He has had consecutive rounds of 72.

In the women’s division, Waikato’s Chantelle Cassidy was tied for 11th, after she shot a one-over par 74.

Cassidy, who shot 73 on the opening day, had a mix of seven bogeys and six birdies yesterday.

Leading the field is South Korean Hye-Jin Choi, who shot four-under par to be nine shots under overall.

South Korean Ga-young Lee was leading after the first day when she shot an amazing 10-under-par 63 to lead by five shots, but blew out on the second day with four over to be in a share of fourth place.

Meanwhile, Ashburton’s Daniel Pearce was in the best position of all the New Zealanders at Australian q-school at the Sandhurst Golf Club in Melbourne.

Pearce, who was in a tie for 10th after the first round on Tuesday, shot four-under par on Wednesday to be eight under overall and in a two-way share of third place.

Andrew Martin from Victoria was leading at 11-under par.

The only other Kiwi in the top 30 was Fraser Wilkin, who shot an even-par 72 to be one under for the tournament.

Auckland professional Tae Koh, who was in a share of third place after the first round, shot seven over on Wednesday, to slip to 40th place.

Top Kiwi amateur Luke Toomey shot 74 on the second day to one over and also tied for 40th.