Sebastian García leads the Australian PGA Championship, interrupted by storms
The outstanding performance of Spanish golfer Sebastian Garcia was temporarily halted by inclement weather at the Australian PGA Championship.
García, in excellent form, placed himself at the top of the leaderboard, with seven under par after 15 holes, with a three-stroke lead over his competitors. However, thunderstorms forced the organizers to suspend play and evacuate the public from the course.García, who recently secured a victory in China and two top-five finishes in his last five appearances, was in a promising position to improve his score when play resumes. Although “preferred lies” will be in use, the course record of 63 strokes (eight under par) will not be in play.
Other prominent golfers, such as Ryan Fox, Wenyi Ding, Tapio Pulkkanen, and Anthony Quayle, also achieved good performances. Quayle, with Steve Williams as caddie, shared the lead at the club with four under par (67).
Adam Scott and Min Woo Lee were one stroke behind, with rounds of 68 strokes.
Cameron Smith, a three-time winner, finished with two under par, as did defending champion Elvis Smylie.
Marc Leishman and Cam Davis, along with other players, finished two under par and holes to play.
The tournament also witnessed two “aces”, including the one by Kazuma Kobori and Daniel Gale, who won a BMW.
Smith revealed the hard work he has done to recover his short game. The golfer, who hasn’t won a title in more than two years, started his round at 2:45 a.m. and shot a 69, two under par.
Smith highlighted his performance in putting and chipping, aspects that gave him the victory at the 2022 Open. In his Thursday round, he achieved 10 one-putts, suggesting an improvement in his game.
I made a lot of good six-to-eight-foot putts, but I didn’t make anything beyond that all day, so it was good to see those go in.
Cameron Smith
Lee lamented the bad luck of his approach hitting the flag on the final hole, forcing him to settle for par. Scott, for his part, indicated that he will maintain a consistent approach for the rest of the tournament.
It’s a difficult course to make a lot of putts unless you’re putting them close all the time.
