GOLF:DANIEL GAUNT joined fellow Australians Alistair Presnell and Adam Bland in the lead at six-under after yesterday's opening round of the Australian Masters at Victoria Golf Club in Melbourne.
Presnell and Bland, who travel and room together to save costs on the Nationwide Tour in the US, fired 65s in the morning to lead the way before Gaunt, a winner on the Challenge Tour in England earlier this year, joined them with a strong afternoon round.
Gaunt, the world number 225, went on a birdie blitz through the middle of his round with five straight around the turn from his seventh (the 16th). He picked up another at his 15th and would have taken an outright lead into the second round if he hadn’t missed a short putt at the last.
But the 31-year-old is well-placed heading into his round this morning considering a substantial change in the weather is expected during the afternoon’s play.
Out safely in 34, Presnell eagled the short, par-four first and holed a hat-trick of birdie putts – all in the four-to-six metre range – at four, five and six to skip to seven under. His one blemish, a bogey, came at his last, the par-five ninth, when he tugged his second shot left.
Bland’s bogey-free round started quietly enough but ended in a rush. After turning at one-under, the 28-year-old South Australian birdied five of the last six holes.
Seven players finished with four-under rounds of 67 to sit two off the pace in a share of fourth. They were morning tee-offs Andre Stolz, Craig Hasthorpe, Luke Bleumink and Gareth Paddison along with afternoon trio Steve Collins, Matthew Millar and Kurt Barnes.
Six players finished with 68s while tournament favourite and title-holder Tiger Woods played impeccably from tee to green but failed to make it count with the putter to finish with a two-under 69.
The world number two dropped a shot early at his third hole but redressed the balance at the long par-five 17th.
He birdied the first, and picked up just one more shot at five in the run home.
“I gave myself a bunch of looks early for birdie but every putt was hit a little bit shy, not quite hard enough to hold the pace,” Woods said.
“The only bogey I made today was a three-putt. I need a little bit more work on that tomorrow.”
