Amateurs lead the Australian Open amid haze from bush fires
December 5, 2019 | by Golfweek
see also: Chun An Yu, View results for Australian Open, Royal Melbourne Golf Club
The No. 1 golfer in the Golfweek/AmateurGolf.com ranking and the No. 1 golfer in the WAGR are tied at the top in Sydney
Amid smoke and haze from nearby bush fires, two amateurs share the lead after the first round of the Australian Open.
Japan’s Takumi Kanaya, the No. 1-ranked player in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, and Taiwan’s Chun-An Yu, a senior at Arizona State and the No. 1 ranked player in the Golfweek/AmateurGolf.com World Ranking, posted rounds of 6-under 65.
Playing the back nine at the Australian Golf Course to open his round, the Japanese player had five birdies. He bogeyed the par-4 third hole before making birdie on the eighth and ninth holes.
The leaders had a two-stroke lead over 2015 champion Matt Jones and fellow Australians Dimi Papadatos and Daniel Nisbet.
A winner last month in his homeland, 21-year-old Kanaya’s round came four years after he signed for an 85 at this course in his Australian Open debut.
“I have a little confidence, but I have three more days, so I will do my best tomorrow,” Kanaya said.
Jones complained of burning eyes from the smoke blowing in from about 25 bush and grass fires burning across New South Wales state, including a large one in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney.
“It’s awful,” Jones saíd. “The smoke’s not good at all. It’s tough to see your golf ball when you’re out there playing, where it finishes. Your eyes do burn up. I hope my kids are inside in the hotel room.”
Players dealt with the haze in different ways, but it posed a particular problem for New Zealander Ryan Chisnall, who suffers from asthma. According to a story in the Sydney Morning Herald, Chisnall coughed and sputtered through the start of his round on Thursday afternoon before borrowing a face mask from a spectator. Several in the galleries were seen wearing them.
Robert Allenby reportedly ran out of eye-drops mid-round because he was applying them so frequently. Scott remarked that he felt he needed to spray salt water up his nose as a post-round cleanse.
While Golf Australia’s Stephen Pitt said he was confident the tournament would proceed without any smoke delays, he said officials will closely monitor the weather with children and elderly spectators most susceptible to the threatening air quality.
“Firstly, our issues with smoke at a golf tournament pale into insignificance with the things that home owners and property owners and people right around the country have dealt with,” Pitt said of the fires which have killed six people and destroyed dozens of homes.
“So we’re very aware of that fact and all our sympathies and thoughts go to them because that’s the real issue.”
Pitt said it was a new type of threat for the tournament.
“It’s something we’ve never had to give consideration to before,” he said. “We’ve had storms and rain and hail and heat and cold and all those sort of things that are your typical golf tournament issues. But this one is new and we have been in constant contact with the Bureau of Meteorology.”
About the Australian Open
The Australian Open is one of golf’s oldest national championships and now a key stop on the DP World Tour, co-sanctioned with the ISPS Handa PGA Tour of Australasia. Played in late November or early December at top venues like The Australian, Kingst...
Most Popular Articles
FINAL WRAP: AmateurGolf.com Silicon Valley Amateur at Stanford
Jan 14, 2026Dean Greyserman takes title at 12-under - Randy Haag wins playoff in senior division
2026 Ben Hogan Award Watch List: 35 Names to Know This Spring
Jan 29, 2026The 2026 Ben Hogan Award watch list is out—35 college golf standouts are in the early mix for the game’s top individual honor.
Titleist Fitting Philosophy: The Competitive Amateur’s Fastest Path to Lower Scores
Jan 26, 2026Competitive golf is a game of small edges. Titleist’s fitting approach combines expert human insight and honest data
NCAA Champion Michael La Sasso Turns Pro, Signs With LIV Golf
Jan 20, 2026Michael La Sasso is going LIV, joining Phil Mickelson’s HyFlyers GC and passing on the 2026 Masters.
Early Invites Announced for the 2026 Augusta National Women’s Amateur
Jan 24, 2026A running list of the first confirmed names headed to Augusta.