Davis still in touch after stormy start
CAMERON Davis hasn’t given up hope of defending his Australian Open title after being made to feel like any weekend hacker at The Lakes yesterday.
Sydney’s unseasonal wild weather made the Australian Open look more like the British Open as gusting winds and torrential rain turned the national championship into a battle of survival and left spectators ducking for cover as players struggled to find the fairways.
Only 27 of the 144 players managed to break par in the opening round with plenty losing balls in the water, including Davis who made a horror start to his title de- fence.
Battling nerves as much as the foul weather, he made a quadruple bogey-8 on his first and was 7-over after just three holes and in a world of trouble.
Davis did recover slightly to sign for a 4-over par 76 to convince himself the worst was over and said he could still mount a challenge for the title he won in brilliant style last year.
“I had no idea what was going on in the first three holes,” he said.
“I was trying really hard, probably too hard because I was a little bit nervous.
“As soon as I heard my name on the first tee, the legs were a little bit jelly and I tried to hit it a bit hard.
“Just winning a golf tournament, you realise it’s not about playing perfect golf. The only way I’m going to win is by not thinking about it.”
David wasn’t the only big name to succumb to Mother Nature as The Lakes bared its teeth. Cameron Smith, Australia’s highest ranked player, also stuck a ball in the drink on his way to a 74 while American Keegan Bradley, the only major winner on the field, salvaged an even par 72.
Fresh from his win in Mexico on Sunday, Matt Kuchar managed two late birdies to finish, three shots behind the outright leader, South Korean Byeong Hun An, who played in the morning when the course as more docile.
“They were very tough conditions,” Kuchar said.
“With the wind blowing as strong as it was today, it was hard finding some fairways, it was hard trying to execute with good shots out there.”
An snatched the outright lead with a spectacular eagle-3 on the 8th, his penultimate hole, when he pumped a 4iron on to the green then drained a 25-foot putt.
The youngest winner of the US Open Amateur championship, An has struggled to live up his early promise since turning professional seven years ago but has been in great form this year, twice finishing runner-up on the PGA Tour.
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