SHORT PAR THREE
Anthony Brown reckons he must have walked under a ladder and broken a mirror. How else do you explain his third hole in one which hasn't been rewarded with a prize? "And most of them have been in the last few years," said Brown, who aced the 198-metre second on Saturday. There were only a handful of spectators to view the rare feat – Brown was the second pairing off in the morning – and it is the sixth time the world No.955 has racked up every golfer's dream. "There was no one else to watch and it's probably the only reason they were there," he joked. The 2014 NSW Open champion reached for a five iron on the hole, which features an elevated tee and boasts a tiered green. "When I hit it it was straight at it and it was just drifting nicely in the breeze and it landed in the right spot," he said. "When it hit the green and got to the down slope I thought, 'that's tracking' And then it just went in. Sometimes you just get a feeling." As for the ball, Brown reckons it will go in a suitcase when he gets home. Despite the blazing start to his round, he finished his third round at three-over to be seven-over for the tournament.
YOU BEAUTY! Anthony Brown nails an ace on the 2nd! His 6th career hole in none! #AusOpenGolf pic.twitter.com/0vc7aHUcH2— Australian Open Golf (@AusOpenGolf)
November 27, 2015
COACH SHIELDS SPIETH
The demand on Jordan Spieth's time has been enormous during his visit to Sydney, not least of all from autograph hunters of all kinds looking for the world No.1's scribble. That's where his Australian coach Cameron McCormick comes into play. Having just left the range in preparation for his afternoon tee time on Saturday, McCormick was forced to complement one security guard in shielding Spieth from fans just so he could make it up the hill to the putting green. Afterwards? McCormick was just another largely anonymous face in Spieth's gallery.
DRAKEFORD FIRES UP
Todd Sinnott may be creating waves at The Australian Golf Club this week, but his old forestry worker mate Geoff Drakeford was just happy to be holing a few putts after playing with the Victorian power hitter in the first two roundS. The pair, who are the same age and grew up together, had a great laugh on Thursday and Friday before Drakeford set the standard on Saturday morning with a three-under 68. "I was doing a bit of work for [dad] ... spraying, planting and all that sort of stuff," the 23-year-old said of his forestry work in the week leading into the Australian Open last year. "That was to keep the fuel in the car to get to golf, now I can maybe hole some putts." Drakeford was unlikely to make the cutt on Friday afternoon before catching fire late with a string of birdies. On Sinnott, he said: "We've known each other for years. I grew and he was always short, now he has grown and he just towers over everyone."
LONELY ROUND
Professional golf can be a lonely sport at the best of times. But how about the lot served up for battling Victorian professional Daniel Valente. After the weekend's field was left with an odd number of players, Valente teed off by himself in near anonymity just after 7am on Saturday morning. It must have worked though as the 30-year-old climbed a few rungs on the leaderboard with a one-under 70 and raced through his round in just over three hours.
