Sebastian Garcia Dominates Australian PGA Championship Before Storm
The Spaniard Sebastian Garcia was in a dominant position at the Australian PGA Championship, leading the tournament with an impressive performance before weather conditions forced a halt to play.
Garcia, with an exceptional performance, managed to place himself at seven under par after 15 holes, leading his competitors by three strokes, as electrical storms approached the course.
The authorities made the decision to temporarily suspend the game, asking spectators to leave the venue due to the heavy rains that were lashing the field.Garcia arrived at the tournament with the momentum of a recent victory in China and two top-five finishes in his last five appearances.
With two par fives to play, Garcia could have further extended his lead when play resumed, although the course record of eight under par (63) would not be achievable due to the rules of play.
Other prominent golfers, such as Ryan Fox, Wenyi Ding, Tapio Pulkkanen, and Anthony Quayle, shared the lead in the clubhouse with four under par (67).
Adam Scott and Min Woo Lee were one stroke away, after completing their rounds with 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 afternoon players, were stranded at two under par with holes to play.
Additionally, there were two holes-in-one, including 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 three-time champion Smith woke up at 2:45 a.m. for his Thursday round and signed a two-under-par card (69) to start the $2.5 million event.
Smith made 10 one-putts and a total of 26 and thought that the hard work he had done since returning to Brisbane might be paying off.
“I made a lot of good six-to-eight foot putts, but I didn’t make anything outside of that all day, so it was good to see that one go in,” he said about his birdie on the ninth hole.
Lee lamented “a good problem” when his approach to the final hole hit the flagstick.
Scott indicated that his constant focus would be the mode of operation for the weekend.
It’s a difficult field to make a lot and a lot of putts unless you’re putting it close all the time,” Scott said.
