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Brett Coletta is looking to match Greg Norman
Brett Coletta <br>(Golf Australia Photo)
Brett Coletta
(Golf Australia Photo)

SYDNEY, Australia (November 10, 2016) -- You don’t want to be making huge calls after the first day of a professional golf tournament, but there is certainly no reason not to believe Victorian 20-year-old Brett Coletta can’t become the first man since Greg Norman to score a unique double in Australian golf.

Not since the Shark in both 1983 and 1986 has a golfer completed the double of Queensland Open and NSW Open in the same year.

Come Sunday, one suspects Coletta might be the next to do so.

Firstly, he has the maturity. His post-match interview this afternoon - having equalled the course record of 10-under 62 - was the display of a young man, who although not yet a professional, certainly has the awareness and responsibility to be a great one. When he decides to turn pro is a question he will be asked until he hands in the paperwork.

As tour veteran Michael Long noted after his own four-under round “I suppose if Brett’s done it all at the amateur level, then why not (turn pro)? It just seems the guys are younger and younger turning pro, but they are a lot better prepared than we were back then".

Secondly, Coletta has suffered adversity. It was a month ago he had a guaranteed spot at next year’s Masters in Augusta slip through his fingers with a missed birdie opportunity at the Asia Pacific Amateur event in Korea. Yes, it still hurts, he said after his blistering round today at Stonecutters Ridge.

"It’s the ultimate goal to play in a major,” he said. "It’s definitely going to sting, but hopefully I get there one day in the near future.”

Coletta, playing in sublime conditions, was the standout performance on the opening day of the 2016 NSW Open, played at one of Sydney’s best public access golf courses, right in the heart of Western Sydney. He did most of the damage was done on the back nine, with five birdies and an eagle on 15 for a first nine (he started on the 10th) of just 29 strokes. His back nine included three more birdies, and a lip-out on his 18th that would have broken the course record, something he wasn’t even aware of until told later.

ABOUT THE NSW Open

72 hole stroke play event with a field comprised of 84 PGATA Professionals; 20 Asian Professionals; 18 International Amateurs; 8 Elite Amateurs; 8 Regional Amateurs.

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