Final Round
Conditions for the final round of the tournament once again proved to be difficult, with more of the strong hot winds that buffeted the course during round 3. Many of the leaders in the Boys section fell back, leaving the door open for Ben Eccles to take out the tournament after returning a terrific 69. Su Oh continued her fine play to finish as the only player at Maitland to break par over the four rounds and claim victory by a stunning 13 strokes. Su won the sub junior 2 years ago and now has the main trophy as part of her ever growing golf resume. Both Su and Ben win a trip to China to represent Australia at the Aaron Baddeley International.
The wins for Ben and Su mark the end of a long drought for Victorian players at this tournament and it is the first time that Victorians have taken out both titles in the same year. Victoria also claimed the team title in conjunction with the JNJG team.
Ryan Ruffels continued his great form to eclipse the field in the sub junior tournament shooting a tournament record 16 under par at Kurri Kurri. Ryan now has won back to back titles and is attracting a lot of attention as he is proving to be one of our finest young golfing talents. Soo Bin Park also finished well to be runner up in the Girls 12 years division.
It was a stunning week all round for the Victorians now taking all the NSW major championships, following the victory from Lucas Herbert in NSW the previous week.
Round 3
What a tough day here in the Hunter Valley! Strong hot winds baked the courses and the scores reflected the difficulty of the conditions.
Su Oh returned a creditable 74 to stretch her lead to 14 strokes over the rest of the field and looks certain to take out the Girls Championship. Similarly at Kurri Kurri, Ryan Ruffels (pictured) stretched his lead to 11 strokes after a great round of 69.
The best of the Victorian boys in the main championship at Maitland is Ben Eccles, who goes into the final round four shots back of the leaders and still with a realistic chance of winning. Ben birdied 3 of his last 4 holes today to really keep himself in the championship.
In the Teams event, the Vics head into the final round with a one stroke lead over NSW. It is sure to be close finish.
Round 2
Day 2 at the Srixon saw two Victorian players stamp their class on the tournament.
Su Oh continued her great from returning a 2 under par 70 for a 7 under total and a 10 shot lead going into round 3 of the girls championship.
In the Sub Junior tournament Ryan Ruffels returned the best round of the tournament, a 7 under par 65, to lead by 4 shots after 2 fine rounds.
The other Victorians also moved up the leaderborad following rounds of 69 from Brett Coletta, 73 from DJ Loypur and 74 from Julienne Soo. The Victorian team of Su Oh and DJ Loypur leads the teams event at the halfway mark.
Ben Eccles continues as the leading Victorian in the boys championship at a 2 over par total, 7 shots behind boys leader Travis Smyth from NSW.
Round 1
The first round of the 2012 Srixon International was played today at Maitland GC.
Su Oh lead the way by firing the low round of the day, returning a great 5 under par 67 around the tight Maitland Layout. "I was pretty happy with my round as it got a bit windy" said Oh. Su is well placed to capitalise with a moring start on day 2, which is predicted to be hot and blustery.
Other Victorians to do well on day 1 were Ben Eccles (+1) and Frazer Droop (+3), in touch with leader Travis Smyth from St Michaels GC on 3 under. The rest of the Vics will be looking for a better performance on day 2.
Other great news came from the Sub Junior (U15) tournament at nearby Kurri Kurri GC. Defending champion Ryan Ruffels from Victoria leads the field there after round 1 having returned an opening 1 under par round. In second place is the recently crowned Victorian Boys Champion, Tony Jung, on even par. Soo Bin Park also leads the way in the girls U13 section on +3.
Preview
The last Victorian winners of this tournament were Aaron Baddeley (1998) and Stacey Doggett (1993)….so fingers crossed for our players. Team manager, Ashley Marshall, is sure some of our players will be "in the mix" come the end of the week and it would be great to see another Victorian winner.
Good luck to all our players.
Results and full tournament information can be found by visiting the JNJG website at www.jnjg.com.au