Top amateur Jack Thompson duels with pros for Queensland Open
South Australian Jack Thompson is in a tight trophy fight at Pelican Waters as he bids to to become the first amateur winner of the Isuzu Queensland Open since 2016.
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Hot amateur Jack Thompson will join Melbourne Cup queen Makybe Diva on Port Lincoln’s sporting honour roll should he upset the pros in Sunday’s Isuzu Queensland Open climax.
The final straight at Pelican Waters is no sprint but a testing 18 holes in tricky winds and the challengers will be flying from everywhere.
Nine golfers will start the last round within four strokes of co-leaders Thompson, Queensland’s Anthony Quayle and Kiwi James Anstiss after a topsy-turvy Saturday at the Caloundra course.
Anstiss (66) made the biggest move with the round of the day and he would have been the solo leader but for a bogey on the tough closing hole.
South Australian Thompson, 22, can become just the third amateur in 30 years to win the Queensland Open, after Stuart Appleby (1991) and Brett Coletta (2016), if he sustains his excellent play.
“I’ve definitely noticed the amateurs who have won events like this in Australia in recent years and it’s good motivation to know what’s possible,” Thompson said.
Fourth-placed Jake Higginbottom turned pro after winning the 2012 NZ Open and Curtis Luck was also an amateur when he won the 2016 WA Open.
“I’ve got to stick to doing my thing and not worry about what my playing partners are doing,” Thompson said.
On the 13th, Thompson took on the 240m par four with a three wood. He left his tee shot in the bunker but a neat sand shot and a 4m putt grabbed one of his best birdies.
The trio of leaders at 13-under-par will tee off early at 10.30am (Qld time), with Sunday’s two-tee start, to avoid any afternoon storms.
Thompson (65-70-68) found the game at Port Lincoln’s lone golf course until shifting to The Grange in Adelaide at 19.
“Port Lincoln is still home and like everyone in town I remember watching Makybe Diva win the Cup as a kid,” Thompson said.
Quayle (67-69-67) will start in the final group on Sunday for the second week in a row and will look for more composed play than his 73 to close the Queensland PGA in Toowoomba.
“I think what I learnt in Toowoomba was to stay patient in the final round, not make big mistakes and not get too frustrated,” Quayle said.
“It would be cool to win my state Open.
“If I play like I have the first three days it will be a winning score or close to it.”
Second round leader David Bransdon (74) fell back to a share of sixth at 10-under after a double bogey-bogey trip-up early in his round.
Perth’s Jarryd Felton sits one off the lead after a third straight 68 and has a knack for trophy moments when he gets his head in front.
Higginbottom has plenty to play for too after a run of missed cuts and a trophy drought and his course record-equalling 63 on Friday will still be strong for his confidence.
Leading Queensland amateur Louis Dobbelaar is enjoying a strong tournament and an eagle on the 16th featured in his 71 for 13th at eight-under.
He was greenside for two in the sand on the 16th and holed the bunker shot for an eagle to get back on track.
* Sydney amateur Stephanie Kyriacou is 18 holes away from the biggest win of her life after grabbing a two-shot lead after three rounds at the Australian Ladies Classic at Bonville.
Kyriacou, from Maroubra in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, added a 69 to her opening two rounds of 69 and 63 to sit at 15-under.
Originally published as Top amateur Jack Thompson duels with pros for Queensland Open
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