RECAP:
Brett's back:Coletta fediscovers his magic
Wonder Boy: Schoolkid seizes the moment
Lunch lead: Dan's the man with birdies on tap
Course Whisperer: Graham Marsh's tips to tame Twin Creeks
Last year Joshua Gadd was the youngest player in the NSW Open field. This year he has stepped up with one of the rounds of his life.
To complete the domination of youngsters on day one of the NSW Open at Twin Creeks, local 18-year-old Joshua Gadd crafted one of the rounds of his life in a performance of both masterful stroke play and patience.
Gadd had the torturous task of completing his HSC amid trying to qualify for the open through sectional events just to make the field at a course he describes as one of the best in Sydney.
“Legendary” mum Belinda drove Joshua six and half hours each way from their Penrith home to qualifying in Griffith this month where he posted rounds of +1 and +1 in a gruelling 36-hour format to win and make it through here at Twin Creeks.
“Mum drove the all the way there by herself,” Joshua said.
“She’s a legend. I won that. She’s always there for me, she always helps.
“She hung around both days and then drove all the way home for me.”
Joshua didn’t waste the chance.
“The first nine holes was a bit scratchy, I didn’t do anything special,” said the tall, likeable youngster.
“It really turned on during the back nine. I shot four-under through my last four, including an eagle on 15. I had a lot of lip-outs on the front nine. But I was patient and they started to fall on the back nine.
“It (the round) could’ve been anything.”
Gadd, who plans to concentrate full time on his golf now that his HSC has been completed, finished the day tied in fourth place on seven-under alongside fellow amateur Min Woo Lee.
A bit of local knowledge paid off, his training at the Western Sydney Academy of Sport has seen him train at Twin Creeks for numerous rounds.
“The course is the best I’ve ever seen it, the greens are amazing,” he said.
“Just hit it on the line and they go in. It was good fun.”
Gadd’s praised of the Twin Creeks greens was echoed just an hour earlier by West Australian Jason Scrivener who said the greens were the best he’d putted on all year.
“These are the best greens I’ve played on all year,” said 28-year-old Scrivener.
“We don’t get the chance to putt on greens this good in Europe. It’s an absolute treat.”