AN eagle holed with a sand wedge helped former world junior champion Matthew Giles land one of the last spots in the field for this week’s Australian Open.
Giles, 18, shot a three-under par 69 in pre-qualifying at Liverpool GC in outer Sydney, but had to survive a three-man playoff to earn his spot in the Open.
He did it in style, grabbing one of the last places in the 156-man field for this week’s tournament.
“I hit a nice drive and then a sand wedge that landed just past the flag and spun back into the hole,” Giles said.
Giles, who played the first two rounds of last year’s Open with Greg Norman, headed straight to The Australian GC, where he is a member, to get in some practice before afternoon showers cleared the course.
He has only just completed his HSC at Caringbah High School and two weeks ago was at Schoolies Week on the Gold Coast.
Four days after the tournament ends he gets his HSC results and in January he will set off to take up a business studies scholarship at the University of Southern California.
____________
By John Coomber
news.com.au
« Olinda wins scholarship Australian Institute of Sport | Sydney Now exhibition scholarship general studies program Photography in New York »