Date: March 16, 2015
Author: Christian Puccini / Golf SA

Final Summaries – Golf SA Amateur Classic and Rene Erichsen

Men’s – Round 4 Summary

South Australian young gun Antonio Murdaca has claimed his first national ranking event, by taking out the South Australian Amateur Classic (partnered by the W Group) by seven strokes.

Taking a four-shot lead into the final round, Murdaca, a two-time National Junior Champion, turned in a dominant front running effort to beat Jayden Petersen from Monash Golf Club with a closing two-under round of 70 to finish 11-under par on the spectacular Royal Adelaide layout.

For the 72 hole Championship Murdaca fired rounds of 70, 70, 67, 70 and was one of only three players to finish in the red.

 “It was pretty good out there today, I went out with the same mindset to play some good golf, hit some good shots, I hit the ball pretty well and putted okay today, not as well as yesterday obviously but it got me over the line”

Murdaca’s margin was reduced to three through nine, when he made bogey on the par five ninth but he wasn’t too fazed.

 “No I wasn’t too nervous, I got a bit of a lucky break, I was almost only two ahead, Petersen missed a birdie putt on the ninth, it was sort of a ‘get out of jail free card’, only lost one shot, I kept it steady and made one birdie coming down 15 then back on 17.”

Murdaca had a pretty simple mindset for the final round.

“Hit the fairway, hit the green and hopefully roll in the putt”.

“It feels pretty good, I’m lucky enough for it to be in Adelaide. I know this course quite well and I’ve played and won a couple of Junior Masters around here”.

“The Greens were a bit quicker from the first round and they are rolling really well. The course is playing quite long and it was quite windy out there the last few days. Overall I was pretty happy with my game.”

The win is a great launching pad for Murdaca heading into the Maters.

“It’s great for my confidence, I’m feeling really good about my game and really happy with how I played today. This is one of my bigger wins as well. I’ve always wanted to win the SA Classic so it’s a good lead up for me and its given me great confidence for when I head of to the Masters on 2nd April”

Douglas Klein from Redcliffe Golf Club in NSW finished third behind Petersen at one under par.

Next best South Aussies after Murdaca, were 36 hole leader Alex Hendrick and Matthew Lisk from The Grange, along with Sam Earl from The Vines of Reynella who all placed tied fifth at two over the card.

> FINAL LEADERBOARD > Men's – Golf SA Amateur Classic 

Women’s – Round 4 Summary

Victorian, Jo Charlton has claimed her first national ranking event, by taking out the South Australian Rene Erichsen Salver (partnered by the W Group) by five strokes after carding a final round four-under 69.

Finishing at two-under, Charlton was the only player in the field to finish under par.

With rounds of 72-77-72-69 Charlton finished five ahead of Glenelg’s Jenny lee, who posted a three-over final round of 76.

 “It was one of those days, you hope to have one of those days every time you get out on the golf course, but more often it’s not the case, but I’ll certainly take it. It basically fell together for me today.”

Charlton started the day two behind Lee, but made three birdies on the front nine, to reduce the margin to one. 

Charlton then went on a birdie run, from holes 10 through 12 to move to 4-under, while Lee dropped both the 10th and 12th to be at even par.

“There were two shot swings on a couple of holes” Charlton said.

Charlton handled the conditions better than her rivals today, with the blowy conditions not fazing the 25 year old, who mixes her golf with part-time employment at Golf Victoria.

“It’s been a little windy every day, maybe a fraction stronger today and a little more challenging. The greens where definitely a lot harder today and the ball was reacting differently hitting into the pins and they were rolling a lot quicker too.”

With five straight pars to close, Charlton was rock solid down the stretch to go one better than her runner up finish in 2014.

 “I’d be lying if I said the nerves weren’t kicking in, they probably kicked in with eight to play. I got a couple of birdies which sort of settled it a little bit, but I decided to make it interesting and threw a double in on the 13th, so I would be lying to say there were no nerves”.

 “I set myself a really basic goal this week, to stick to my pre shot routine. That was all I wanted to do and if I did that over every shot, I was going to leave the event happy, regardless of the result. I felt like I did that pretty well, the win is a bit of a bonus really”.

Charlton who has had a solid run of tournaments in recent months has just been named Victorian Women’s Captain again for the Interstate Series.

“That’s the end of my summer, until I go play the interstate series at Royal Melbourne, then I will be off to the UK and potentially the US for our winter, and hopefully play some good golf over there too, fingers crossed.”

Finishing runner up in the Rene Erichsen was Jenny Lee at (3-over) after posting rounds 70-74-75-76 (295). Third a further three strokes back was Caitlin Roberts from The Grange, 76-70-74-78 (298).

> FINAL LEADERBOARD > Women's – Rene Erichsen Salver

Men’s – Round 3 Summary

After 54 holes, Antonio Murdaca has stormed to the top of the leaderboard of the Golf SA Amateur Classic after firing a 5-under round of 67. Murdaca opened with three consecutive birdies to move quickly to 7-under and join overnight leader Alex Hendrick who made par on the opening seven holes.

“The putter was working the first three holes”. Murdaca said.

Murdaca’s good early work nearly came unstuck on the 352 metre, par 4, 8th hole, when he only found the green with his fourth, after deciding to putt using a rescue from just off the green.  He made bogey but with Hendrick making double, Murdaca moved to the outright lead by one.

With a birdie on the 9th Murdaca went out in 34, then with further birdies on the 11th and 14th he raced to 9-under extending his lead over Hendrick by five. Jack Williams who started the day equal with Murdaca, was 3-under struggling to hole putts.

With a wayward second shot on the short 467metre par 5, 15th hole, Murdaca found the greenside bunker for three and after failing to make up and down finished with a bogey, his second for the day.

Over the final three holes Murdaca gained a further three strokes on his playing partners after Hendrick made bogey on 16 and 17 and Williams 17 and 18. Murdaca birdied the final hole, to move into a great position to claim his first Classic win, with one round to play.

“I hit it solid again today, I didn’t hit it as well off the tee as previous rounds but made a couple of good putts for par. I made soft bogeys on the 8th and 15th  but overall I am really happy with my round”.

“Tomorrow is just about repeating today, hitting some good shots and making some putts.” Murdaca added.

Murdaca leads Brayden Petersen (Monash – NSW) by three, after Peterson carded a 69 to be 5-under, while Will Somerfield from Kooyonga fired a one-under 71 to sit 3-under and be equal third with Sam Earl (72) from The Vines of Reynella.

Alex Hendrick is tied 5th with Douglas Klein from (Redcliffe NSW) at 2-under.

While Jack Williams and Riversdale Cup Champion Travis Smyth are even with the card and placed equal 7th.

The final men’s group of Murdaca, Petersen and Somerfield tee off in the final round at 8.56am Thursday 19 March.

Women’s – Round 3 Summary

After 54 holes of the Rene Erichsen Salver, Glenelg’s Jenny Lee is even with the card and leads Caitlin Roberts (The Grange) by one, ahead of Jo Charlton (VIC).  

After a bogey on the first, Lee made three birdies on the front nine to move to 4-under overall, leading Charlton at even par, after the Victorian made four birdies herself through nine. Mid-round Roberts sat 2-over with bogeys on the 3rd and 9th.

Lee had an indifferent finish with bogeys on the 12th and 17th and a double on the par 4, 13th to finish with a 2-over round of 75.

Roberts finished strongly with three birdies to go with two bogeys on the back nine to hold her second placing after a round of 74 and sit one behind Lee at 1-over the card.

“I had a lot lip out for birdie today, but I was hitting my irons much better. I left a lot out there but it’s great to be a contender”. Roberts said.

Jo Charlton who is outright third, made two bogeys on the back nine to finish at 1-under for the day to be 2-over for the Championship and two behind Lee.

The final women’s group of Lee, Roberts and Charlton tee off in the final round at 8.40am Thursday 19 March.

 

Men’s – Round 2 Summary

After 36 holes of the Golf SA Amateur Classic, Alex Hendrick has moved into the outright lead at 7-under after posting an impressive second round 69 to go with an opening round 68.

Hendrick who fired 5 birdies in round two, leads fellow Grange members, Antonio Murdaca and Jack Williams by 3 strokes. “The ball is doing what it’s told, it’s going straight and I’m making some putts, which is great”. Hendrick said.

Hendrick, a three-time SA state representative hasn’t been able to hit balls as frequently as in the past, due to work commitments as a Personal Trainer and Strength and Conditioning Coach.

“I’ve been training Nick Cullen on and off for over 2 years now and training with him myself. So I’ve been working on my strength and fitness and that’s the key for me now. Previously if I hadn’t played for a week, I’d feel strange over the ball, but now if I haven’t played for a bit I still feel strong and ready to go”.

“I’ve had plenty of coaching over the years, but probably wasn’t as strong as I could have been to eradicate those inconsistencies. Now its full body exercises and functional training to promote full body strength.”

Hendrick’s round 1 co-leaders; Brayden Peterson (Monash – NSW) carded a 74 to be 2-under (tied 5th), while Cameron John (Commonwealth – VIC) is even with the card after posting a 4-over round of 76 to be tied 9th. Frazer Droop (Yarrawonga Mulwala – VIC) had a tough afternoon posting a 79 to be tied 24th.

While Antonio Murdaca fired another 2-under round of 70 to sit at -4. “I hit it solid, putted poorly but holed 2 putts on the last two holes for birdie. I’m hitting the ball really well and happy with my shapes, hopefully I can heat up the putter tomorrow” Murdaca said.

Jack Williams made his move with a round of 69 with 6 birdies for the day.

Other South Australians, Sam Earl from The Vines of Reynella is outright fourth at 3-under while Will Somerfield from Kooyonga is 2-under and tied fifth.

With the cut at 153 (+9) after 36 holes, 63 players (23 South Australian’s) proceed to the final two rounds.

Men’s Round 3 kicks off at 8.00am on Wednesday 18 March with the Men’s leading group Hendrick, Murdaca and Williams teeing off at8.40am.

Women’s – Round 2 Summary

Glenelg’s Jenny Lee retains her lead in the Rene Erichsen Salver after a second round 1-over 74.

Lee’s round includes 5 birdies, 3 bogeys and a triple on the par four 11th hole.

Big mover for the day was Caitlin Roberts who fired a 3-under 70 to go with an opening round 76 to move to even par.  Currently in second position 2 behind Lee, Roberts who has recently transferred to The Grange from Royal Adelaide was happy with her round which included 5 birdies.

“I hit it a lot better today, hit it close in and holed the putts, I hit a few cuts though so I’m heading to the driving range tonight”.  Roberts said

Roberts was 4 shots better than her fellow competitors today who all found the windy afternoon conditions quite difficult.

Tied in third position was Jo Charlton (VIC) and Gennai Goodwin (QLD) who carded rounds of 77 and 78 respectively.

With no cut, all 18 players continue through to the final two rounds.

In Round 3 on Thursday 18 March, the leading women’s group of Lee, Roberts and Charlton tees off at 8.56am.

Men’s – Round 1 Summary

SA’s Alex Hendrick from The Grange Golf Club is in a four-way tie of the lead in the Golf SA Classic after round 1.

On his 32nd birthday, Hendrick fired 6 birdies along with 2 bogeys to post a 4-under round of 68. “I was really happy to be out there, it was a relaxing round. I hit it pretty solid and didn’t miss too many greens and made some nice putts.” Hendrick said.

Hendrick shares the lead with Frazer Droop (Yarrawonga Mulwala – VIC) who was early clubhouse leader, along with Brayden Peterson (Monash – NSW) and Cameron John (Commonwealth – VIC).

John, starting on the 14th finished with four 3’s in a row from hole 10 through 13, having 30 strokes across the back nine holes. “I didn’t hit a shot out of place and was hitting it pretty close all day” John said.

Antonio Murdaca has started the Classic well after posting a 2-under round of 70 to sit tied 7th. “The course is playing alright and the greens are rolling well, I’m pretty happy, it was a solid round.”  Murdaca said

Teeing off in the morning, Murdaca fired birdies on the 8th and 9th to go out 2-under and came home generally unscathed, despite a bogey on the 15th after losing a ball in the rough. He birdied the 18th to finish strong.  “I’m looking forward to playing in the afternoon tomorrow, hopefully the wind stays down.  Murdaca added. “

Of the 123 Men’s starters, currently 13 players sit under par.

Men’s Round 2 kicks off at 8am on Tuesday 17 March.

Women’s – Round 1 Summary

Jenny Lee from Glenelg Golf Club leads the Rene Erichsen Salver after round 1, after firing a 3-under par round of 70.

Lee is currently the 4th ranked Australian female Amateur and ranked 250 in the world.

“I played really good today, I’ve played well the past few weeks but not putted well. I putted really well in the final round of the NSW Open and I had that same good feeling with the putter again today.”  Lee Said.

In perfect conditions, Lee carded 2 birdies and an eagle on the front nine to go out in 34 (4-under) and came home with bogeys on the 10th, had one further birdie on the 15th before a bogey on the last.

Lee leads fellow Astor Trophy team mate Gennai Goodwin from Mossman Golf Club (QLD) by one stroke after Goodwin shot a 2-under  71. Victorian Jo Charlton is one stroke further back at 1-under par.

Elysia Yap is the next best South Australian sitting in a tie for 5th place after a 75 (+2).

In Round 2 on Tuesday 17 March, the first women’s group tees off 12.32pm.

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PRE-EVENT NEWS

> SA Amateur Classic & Rene Erichsen returns to Royal Adelaide