Players at the Mazda NSW Open tackled a brutal 40+ degree heat during the Mazda NSW Open today. Despite the conditions, St. Michael’s amateur Travis Smyth had a great day on seven under. He finished tied eight with Victorian’s Chris Gaunt and Ryan Lynch.
Overall he played solid with three birdies in the first nine, then two in the back. Just when he thought he had a bogey-free round as he approached the 18th, he said he attributes this mental slip caused him a bogey on the last hole.
The greens were rock solid and some of the flags were on slopes and wasn’t on the best part of the wide fairways making it difficult.
“I was happy with the way I played and tried to hit the wider areas of the green.”
Tackling the heat was his biggest battle all day. He went through eleven bottles to stay hydrated and took his time. He concentrated on his breathing and on his shots. He was grateful to Coca Cola for providing the drinks which was a real treat, as he never had this in his amateur events.
This was Travis’ first pro tournament so he was feeling a bit nervous on the first day. He said, “It was a great two days…and they are really good guys so it made it a lot easier,” referring to fellow pros in his group, Kim Felton (WA) and Steven Jones (VIC).
“I had a great group today…played with Felton Jones. We had a few good chats in between around the course”.
Moving forward over the next few days, he’s looking forward to going for a hole in one where Mazda is putting a car up for a prize. He isn’t sure if he can win it but says, “it will be good to take that out before anyone else does.”
Although Travis is also looking forward to tackling all the other holes with the hole in one prizes too, most importantly, he wants to stick to his game and finish the tournament well.
Asking Travis what drives him to continue, he said it’s his love for the game. “It’s a nice sport to play, I really enjoy it.”
He encourages others who are aspiring to play elite golf to keep getting lessons and learn from their local PGA pro, to “keep playing golf!”
Playing at the Stonecutters Ridge Golf club, he said “It is a lovely course. It’s wide…it’s fun…you hit a lot of drivers and everything is in perfect condition; so hats off to the green keepers and well done to Greg Norman for such a great design!”
The 2014 Mazda NSW Open forms part of the PGA Tour of Australasia and will be played at Stonecutters Ridge Golf Club, near Blacktown, from 13-16 November. Entry to the course is FREE.