Australian Open: Rhein Gibson dodges the hoopla on US PGA Tour

Rhein Gibson turned up for his first event as a US PGA Tour member and got handed the keys to a courtesy car.

Rhein Gibson hits out of a bunker on the 1st hole during round one of the Australian Open at The Australian Golf Club in Sydney. Picture: Gregg Porteous.

Rhein Gibson turned up for his first event as a member of the US PGA Tour and got handed the keys to a courtesy car.

“They gave me a $300,000 Mercedes-Benz,” Gibson said yesterday after shooting a 68 in the second round of the Australian Open.

“It took me five minutes to figure out how to get the thing in drive. You get treated like royalty. Going from trying to get the cheapest car you can ... because you have to pay for it yourself, to rocking up to a PGA Tour event two weeks later and you get a $300,000 car — they get spoiled out there.

“It’s all a learning experience. At the end of the day it is just a car. You give the keys back a week later. From my point of view it’s just nice that you don’t have to spend $300 on renting a car.

“There is definitely a lot more going on. You can definitely get pulled left and right. If you want it, you can get it. I want to keep doing what I am doing. Obviously, I got there for a reason.

“I want to stay away from all the hoopla.”

Easier said than done, particularly when you find yourself on the leaderboard at the national championship. Gibson thrust himself into the Open equation heading into the weekend after firing four birdies and a solitary bogey at The Australian Golf Club yesterday.

His return to Sydney comes after a helter-skelter few months in which he secured his PGA Tour card and then took his first ­tentative steps on the PGA Tour. After missing the cut at his opening four events, he finished in a share of 58th at the RSM Classic last weekend.

He walked off the 18th green in Georgia and raced to Australia in time to take part in Wednesday’s pro-am. Not that you would know after yesterday. There were few signs of jet lag as he edged his way up the leaderboard.

“I love coming home and playing,” Gibson said. “I have played a lot of golf lately. I am pretty worn out. I have been playing well. My putter has been letting me down those first few events on the tour.

“I wish I had performed a little bit better the first few events but I know I am still going to get (in) a lot of events for next year.

“I know my game is good enough. I am looking forward to getting back over. Last week in Sea Island (in the RSM Classic) my stats were fantastic — good enough to be top 10 apart from my putting.

“I made the cut and finished kind of 50th. That just shows that my game is good enough. It’s going to be a learning experience but I think my game is good enough.

“It’s one thing to get there but I want to stay there. I don’t want to play one year. I want to make sure I have a job for next year.”

With any luck, the Stonehaven Cup will join him on the flight back to America.

“I think I am in a pretty good spot,” he said. “If I play like I did on the front nine — fairways and greens — for sure (I can win it).”