Thursday, December 2, 2010

Griffin Marches To Round 1 Lead At The Australian Open

Sydney - December 2, 2010: Victorian Matthew Griffin made the most of the morning conditions to fire a bogey-free 7-under par 65 to take the lead following the opening round of the Australian Open presented by Century 21 at The Lakes Golf Club in Sydney.

Starting on the first tee, Griffin birdied the second hole before completing three birdies in a row between the sixth and eighth holes. Birdies on the 13th, 14th and 17th completed the 65 and a clean slate.

“No blemishes. That does not happen too often,” Griffin said.

“Almost the most pleasing thing is not to have a bogey. I was standing over a three-footer at the last and telling myself to make sure I got it.”

Griffin has played across the Asia-Pacific on OneAsia this year and is hoping for his first big win at the AU$1.5 million (approximately US$1.48 million) event, which is co-sanctioned by OneAsia and the PGA Tour of Australasia.

"This has definitely been my best round on OneAsia so far," he said. "There are a lot of top quality players to beat this week but if I play four rounds like today, I think we'll be right there on Sunday."

2006 champion John Senden holds second place following an impressive 6-under par 66 as the wind picked up in the afternoon.

The Queenslander said he was pleased with his position.

“I had a good day. My preparation has been good and I feel like I’ve been playing well going into this event so want to continue that.”

Alistair Presnell, who in contention early at the JBWere Masters, is in third place at five-under par.

“I feel a lot better about my game this week. At the Masters I was not overly comfortable with it. I was thinking that if I made the cut, the week would be fine. This week I have done some work with my coach and have had a couple of weeks’ break,” Presnell said.

Nine players are tied in fourth place at 4-under par including Geoff Ogilvy, Stuart Appleby, Peter Senior, Rod Pampling and Marc Leishman.

Chinese Taipei's Yeh Weitze shot a satisfying first round this morning, finishing 69 at three-under par alongside two time Major champion John Daly and Aussies Greg Chalmers and Steve Collins. The 2006 Sega Sammy Cup star has played most of his golf in Japan this year and the Australian Open marks his first-time in Australia.

"I was concerned about the unfamiliarity of the environment but my performance has surprised me," Yeh said. "I did not expect to do as well as I did this morning. Hopefully, I can be in contention this weekend."

Other promising Asian players include Korea's Bang Doo-hwan and Thailand's Panuphol Pittayarat who have tied for 18th at two-under 70 at the end this round.

The Australian Open presented by Century 21 is the penultimate tournament on both the PGA Tour of Australasia and OneAsia.

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