Caboolture golfer Daniel Nisbet turned the tables on his arch rival, German star, Marcel Schneider, when he won the Lake Macquarie International Men’sChampionship by three shots at Belmont today. Mastering the strong North Easterly winds, Nisbet had a one under 71 today to go with his earlier rounds of 65, 68 and 69 to finish on 15 under 273. Schneider, who was the overnight leader going into the final round at 15 under, last week beat Nisbet in the Australian Amateur Championships at the Woodlands course in Melbourne on the 37th hole of a 36 hole match play final. But today Schneider faltered with the flat stick and blew out to a six over 78 to drop back into fifth place on nine under 279. Royal Queensland player Cameron Smith finished second in the Lake Macquarie event today when he had a 69 to go with his earlier 69, 70 and 68 to finish on 12 under on 276. Smith has won the Australian Stroke Play Medal for the past two years and also won the Queensland Amateur titles. Best of the local brigade was Callan O Reilly, of Toronto, who finished equal third on 10 under with German Sebastian Kannler. O Reilly had a 72 today to go with his 67, 69 and 70 for a total of 278. Kannler, from Bavaria, is a member of the German national team. He had a 73 today. Nisbet will be heading for Sydney tomorrow to play in the NSW Medal at the Northern Beaches courses. Before his win today he was 48th in world amateur rankings and he hopes to make the field in this year US Amateur Championships. The 21-year-old hopes to turn professional at the end of the year. This win means a lot to me, he said. Hopefully I will drop a little in the world rankings. Nisbet s godfather, Garry Cooper, also from Caboolture, caddied for him in the tournament and his mother and father were among his gallery. Twenty year old New Zealander, Vaughan McCall, who equalled the course record with a 63 yesterday and was 13 under going into the final day, dropped out of contention with a series of bogeys on the front nine. Local hope Jake Higginbottom, who was 15th in the world rankings, also failed to handle the windy conditions today. Round 4
Queensland&aposs Daniel Nisbet takes a 3 shot lead over Germany&aposs Marcel Schnieder into the back nine holes at Belmont GC. Schnieder defeated Nisbet in the final of the Australian Amateur last week and Nisbet looks likely to get his revenge at Belmont GC today. Locals were expecting to see a move from Charlestown&aposs Jake Higginbottom or Tasmanian Ryan McCarthy, but both players have fallen away today to be well out of contention. Progress Scores for Leaders Nisbet -15 after 70 holes Cam Smith -12 after 71 holes McCall -11 after 70 holes Kannler -11 after 70 holes O&aposReilly -10 after 70 holes Schneider – 9 after 70 holes >>> Greater Building Society Lake Macquarie International COMPLETED SCORES
>>> THE ROUND 4 DRAW IS AVAILABLE AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS ARTICLE Round 3
Twenty-year-old New Zealander Vaughan McCall soared up the leader board on the third day of the Lake Macquarie Men’sInternational Golf Championship with a course record equalling round of nine under 63 today. McCall, who plays at the Gore Club on the bottom of the South Island, had an eagle 2 on the par 4 second hole when he holed out his second shot with a wedge. He had seven birdies on holes 1, 3, 4, 9, 10, 15 and 18 and no bogeys in his remarkable round. Jason Day held the previous record. McCall had a three under first round of 69 and a one under 71 yesterday and is now in third place at 13 under 203 with one day to go. When I holed out on two I knew something special was happening, he said after his round today. I ve been playing golf for seven years and this is my best round. McCall came to Australia to play in the Australian Amateur Championships last year but this is his first try at the Lake Macquarie tournament. Still in the lead in the tournament is German, Marcel Schneider, who shot five under 67 today to bring his total for the three rounds to 15 under 201 followed by Caboolture champion Daniel Nisbet, who carded 69 today for a total of 14 under 202. Best of the local challengers is 18 year old Charlestown product Jake Higginbottom who is four off the pace after a four under 68 today to bring his total to 205. Higginbottom, 15th in World Amateur rankings, is one of the favourites for the event. Schneider and Nisbet fought out the Australian Amateur Championships at Woodlands, Melbourne, last week when Schneider won on the 37th hole of the 36 hole match play final. They are expected to stage an exciting rematch tomorrow. Round 3 Underway A large contingent of Internationals head out in Round 3 after the cut, determined to take home another trophy. After the English took home most of the silverware last year, it the German players who are looking the strongest in 2012. Marcel Schneider took out the Australian Amateur Championship last week, and all six of the visiting team have made the cut here at Belmont GC.
Round 2
Scores of 3 over (total 147) have qualified for the weekend at Belmont GC, with 90 players making this mark. The draw is available at the bottom of this article Charlestown s Jake Higginbottom charged up the leader board on the second day of the Greater Newcastle Building Society Lake Macquarie Men’sInternational Championships with a blistering five under 67 at Belmont today. Higginbottom had two eagles, on the par five 9th and 16th holes, and three birdies in his spectacular round which followed his two under par 70 yesterday. But his seven under total of 137 for the two days is still four behind the leader, Caboolture star Daniel Nisbet who had a four under 68 today to go with his brilliant seven under 65 yesterday, giving him a total of 133. Nisbet, who had his parents and his godparents with him in his gallery, plans to turn professional at the end of the year. The 21-year-old said the Belmont course was in great condition after the rain. There s a lot of scoring to be done, Nisbet said. One shot behind the leader is German Marcel Schneider who defeated Nesbit last week in the Australian Amateur Championships at Woodlands, Melbourne, on the 37th hole of the 36 holes of match play. Schneider had a 68 today to follow his great round of 66 yesterday and is on a two-day total of 134. Also in second place of 134 after two rounds of 67 is Woodlands star Nathan Holman who beat Nesbit two weeks ago in the Master of the Amateurs tournament at Royal Melbourne. The current Newcastle District Champion, Belmont s Chris Smith followed his four under 68 yesterday with a two under 70 today and is still well in the event on 138. Last year s winner of the Lake Macquarie, Royal Perth s Brady Watt, had a three under par 69 to follow his one under 71 yesterday and is still in contention. One of the rounds of the day came from 16 year old Zac Stolz, the son of champion Central Coast professional golfer Andre Stolz. Zac had a four under par 68 to follow his first round 76 and is on 144. The youngster had to qualify for the event, making the field with a 75. Best round of the day came from The Lakes amateur Theodore Coroneo who snared seven birdies for 65 to follow a two over par 74 yesterday. Coroneo had birdies at holes 2, 4, 9, 10, 11, 16 and 17 in his bogey-free round to get him into equal fifth place. Young Belmont player, Daniel Buyers, had a four under 68 today to follow his 73 yesterday and is back in the running on 140.
Round 1 Complete
Queensland star Daniel Nisbet, who ran second in the Australian Amateur Championships in Melbourne last week, took an early lead in the first round of the Greater Building Society Lake Macquarie Men’sInternational Championships with a seven under 65 at Belmont today. Nisbet, who plays out of the Caboolture Club, had five birdies on the front nine today to go out in 31. He birdied the 1st, 4th, 6th, 8th and 9th. On the back nine he had birdies on the 12th, 14th and 18th with a bogey on the 10th. German golfer Marcel Schneider, who beat Nisbet on the 37th hole in the 36 hole final of the Australian Championships, is breathing down his neck in second place at Belmont on 66. Schneider, who lives in Stuttgart and plays for the Schloss Monrepos Club, went out in 32 with an eagle 3 on the 4th hole and birdies on the 5th , 6th and 9th. His only blemish was a bogey on the 7th. He came home in 34 with birdies on the last three holes and a bogey on 13. Four players, Callan O Reilly, of Pennant Hills, Brad Moules, of Royal Adelaide, Nathan Holman, of Woodlands, Melbourne, and Mathew Perry, of Hamilton , New Zealand, and Todd Sinnott, of Koorigal, carded 67s to be in second place. Belmont s favourite golfing son Chris Smith climbed to third on the leader board with a spectacular four under par 68. Taking full advantage of the softer, rain affected greens, Smith played the first nine in a sizzling five under par 31 with birdies on the 2nd , 3rd, 4th, 6th and 9th. He faltered at the start of the back nine with bogeys on 10, 12, 13 and 15. But then, in a dramatic fight back, he eagled 16, sinking a four metre putt after hitting driver and seven iron to the green. He birdied the 17th with an even longer putt from the back of the green and parred the last for his 68. The 25-year-old is the current Newcastle District Champion but has never won the Lake Macquarie event on his home course. He now plays out of the Pymble Club in Sydney. Also on 68 were James Gibellini, of Emerald Lakes, Kevin Marques, of Indooroopilly, John McMiles, of Liverpool, Michael Gerstenberg, of Goulburn, and Dimitrios Papadatos, of Moore Park and Sebastian Kannler, of Germany. New Zealand s No. 1 player, Ben Campbell, carded 69 and local favourite, Jake Higginbottom, of Charlestown, was still in the race with a two under 70. Round 1 Underway Adelaide s Brad Moules, New Zealand&aposs Matt Perry and Callan O Reilly from Pennant Hills have taken the early lead in the Greater Building Society Lake Macquarie International Men’sAmateur Championships with brilliant 5-under 67s in the first round at Belmont today. Twenty year old Moules had an effortless eagle on the par 5 16th when he hit a driver and wedge to within a metre and sank the putt. Earlier, he birdied the par 3 14th when he hit a four iron to within two metres. Moules won the Golf South Australia Classic at Glenelg in 2010 and last year took out the South Australian Amateur title. He now works in the Royal Adelaide Club as an assistant Pro and plans to turn professional at the end of this year. He said the rain yesterday had made the Belmont greens much softer and the lack of wind today also made conditions easier. Moules finished in the top 20 in his first attempt at the Lake Macquarie event last year. O Reilly, who plays out of the Pennant Hills Club in Sydney went out in 33 today with birdies on the 3rd, 6th and 9th holes. He came home in two under 35 with his only blemish being a bogey on the par 4 15th. Pre-Event and Qualifying Round Western Australia s Brady Watt is determined to put up a strong defence of his Greater Building Society Lake Macquarie International title this week, but there are many ready to challenge. Of the challengers, recently crowned Australian Amateur Champion Marcel Schnieder is highly fancied to continue his good form as are his German team mates. The Germans head the overseas contingent which is 36 strong at this year s Championship. Novocastrian Jake Higginbottom, in-form Victorian Nathan Holman and Australian Amateur Runner Up Daniel Nisbet (QLD) lead the Australian hopefuls. At today s pre-qualifying event, there were two scores of five under 67 which suggests there may be some hot scoring over the next four days. Victorian Christopher Harrop s round of 67 included a hole in hole at the long par 3 14th hole. Scores of 77 or better qualified today for the main event, which commences tomorrow. Click here for full list of Pre Qualifying scores.