Adam Crawford has arrived at Castle Hill Country Club determined to reclaim the Gloria Jean s Coffees NSW Open Championship he won two years ago. After a year hiatus the Gloria Jean s Coffees NSW Open Championship has returned to the PGA Tour of Australasia and Crawford couldn’t be happier to defend the title he won in 2011. It’s one of our great state Opens in this country, it s great that its back, said Crawford who is also looking forward to playing the Castle Hill Country Club layout. Castle Hill is a great course; we use to play tournaments here all the time. It hasn t changed much over the years; it s still in good shape. Since winning the title in Newcastle, Crawford has made huge career advancements having spent 2013 competing on the Web.com Tour in the US. It was because of winning the NSW Open that I got into the top-10 on the Order of Merit. Without that I wouldn t have gone to US Q-School and wouldn t have been there this year, added Crawford who attended PGA TOUR qualifying school thanks to his Order of Merit finish in 2011. A year of adjusting, Crawford made 17 cuts in his first season, with four top-25 finishes and a top-10 finish enough to see him heading back to the Web.com Tour in 2014. For my first year it was solid. I had a chance to get my PGA TOUR card right at the end but fell right at the last hurdle. It was a little frustrating but overall I was pretty happy with my year, said Crawford whose best finish was a tied 6th at the Midwest Classic presented by Cadillac. You have to play a different style of golf over there. The courses are a lot softer than they are here but essentially you are playing the same game. For Crawford, winning his second Gloria Jean s Coffees NSW Open would be the icing on the cake. To win any tournament in Australia would be great but with so many great champions on the trophy it would be great to have my name alongside them again. I am a little more tired than I usually am over the summer because I have played so much this year, but it s still good to be back. Crawford will have tough competition at Castle Hill Country Club this week as he is joined by fellow Web.Com Tour players James Nitties and Won Jon Lee. The Gloria Jean s Coffees NSW Open field is further enhanced by PGA TOUR players Nick O Hern and Stephen Bowditch as well as three time European Tour winner Peter O Malley. The 2013 Gloria Jean s Coffees NSW Open will be played at Castle Hill Country Club from 21-24 November.
Author: PGA