Date: October 25, 2014
Author: Martin Blake @ Royal Melbourne

Murdaca on top at Asia-Pacific Amateur

her Australian has vaulted into the lead at the Asian-Pacific Amateur Championship after 19-year-old Antonio Murdaca conjured a second day of excellent golf at Royal Melbourne today.

Murdaca, who had made light of the worst of the conditions on Thursday with an opening 69, embellished that round with a four-under par 68 today to overtake Todd Sinnott, the first-round leader, by a shot.

The prospect of a spot in the field at Augusta National in 2015 plainly appealed to Murdaca, who hails from Adelaide in South Australia and has twice won the Australian junior championship; whose first memory of the Masters is of Tiger Woods chipping in on his way to a victory in 2005.

At seven-under through two rounds, he leads Sinnott (71 today) by a shot heading into the weekend, with a cluster of Asian players on their heels. Thailand's unheralded Tawan Phongphun (71 today) is at four-under through two rounds, along with China's Cheng Jin (69).

Chinese Taipei's Cheng-tsung Pan, one of the tournament's big names, is lurking at three-under par after he matched Murdaca's 68, four shots back along with New Zealand's Joshua Munn, who had the day's low round of 67, China's Guan Tianlang (73) and India's Udayan Mane (69).

Murdoca scrambled his way to a good score, making wonderful pars from awkward places, such as at the par-three seventh where he was left of the green and forced to hit a spinning chip at a 90 degree angle to the flag, and at the par-four 11th, where he missed the green by 20 yards. "My short game's always helped me out a fair bit,'' he said. "We're quite lucky out here, the surrounds of the greens are great. You're never going to get enough bounce, as long as you hit the shot you want. You pretty much hit it where you want to.''

Until this year he has not qualified for the Asia-Pacific Championship, and it was only the fact that the host nation is afforded 10 positions that allowed him into the field. He was ninth-ranked of the 10 Australians, but he outshone his compatriots today.

Of Italian heritage, he was born in Australia but then lived in Italy for two years, and the first words he uttered were Italian rather than English, although the family returned to Australia when he was still an infant. His christian name was even the source of some debate today, since his coaches and associates know him as Anthony, but Murdacca answered this simply: "Antonio's fine,'' he said.

Local boy Sinnott began the day with a one-shot lead but had only one high point in his second round, a sand wedge shot from 141 yards at the par-four first hole, his 10th hole of the day, that landed, spun and dropped in the hole for eagle. "It was a relatively easy shot, just a draw to the pin,'' he said. "I hit 54 (degree wedge). My standard 54 carries 120, so I knew if I went a bit harder with a draw it would go a bit further. I managed to pull it off, which is nice.''

The 22-year-old Australian hit three iron, then sand wedge to the first hole, which measures 428 yards, as an indication of his enormous length and carry. He launched just one driver all day, placing his ball around the course, and he has missed just three fairways in two rounds, the least of anyone in the field.

"I like hitting driver, but it's silly to be driving around here a lot,'' he said. "I quite like playing the defensive game, or smart with irons. I like that kind of position golf.''

Thailand's Phongphun was something of a surprise, picking his way around the course with aplomb. Ranked outside the top 400 on the world amateur rankings, Phongphun said he picked up the game as a boy in Udonthani, outside Bangkok. "At 11, my dad would take me to the golf course and leave me at the golf course and I would just stay there and just watch,and somehow I picked up that interest and just wanted to start playing golf. 

"My family is not that wealthy, so good thing that I'm from the outside, because it's not that expensive.  It doesn't cost as much to play or practice on the golf course.  And at that moment, I just wanted to feel like I want to try as much as possible, and I want to know how much I can succeed if I put everything on it.  And I want to feel, Iwant to know how to feel to be on top.''

As for the leader, he said he would focus on process.  "All I'm looking to do is hit great shots, one after the other.  So I'm not going to think too far ahead.''

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