Ideriha and Araki lead Australian Master of Amateurs

January 4, 2023 | by Jim Young of AmateurGolf.com

Taichiro Ideriha

The Japanese duo hold slim leads at the halfway mark at Southern Golf Club in Melbourne

The Japanese duo of Taichiro Ideriha and Yuna Araki enjoy slim leads at the halfway point of the Australian Master of the Amateurs being held at the Southern Golf Club in Melbourne.

Ideriha followed an opening round 67 with a 3-under 69 on Wednesday to open up a two-stroke lead over England's John Gough and Gregor Tait, who both sit at 6-under 138.

Six other golfers are within four strokes of the lead heading into Thursday's third round.

Ideriha got off to a hot start and collected five birdies on his outward nine to make the turn in 32. He played steady golf on Southern's back nine with eight pars to along with just one bogey for a 3-under round of 69.

After shooting a course record 8-under 64 in the first round, Gough came home 10 strokes higher on Wednesday but is just two off the pace at 6-under 138. The Englishman didn't fare as well on his inward nine in his second round, shooting 3-over 39 compared to yesterday when he was 4-under on the same holes.

After a rocky front nine which saw Tait go out in 2-over 38, the Scot settled the ship and picked up three birdies on holes 10, 11 and 15 to finish with a 1-under par round of 71.

Lukas Michel of Australia, who won the 2019 U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship at Colorado Golf Club, followed an opening round 70 with a 3-under 39 to shoot nine spots up the leaderboard into a tie for fourth with fellow Aussie Jack Tanner at 5-under 139. Michel is looking for his second Australia Master of the Amateurs title in three years after having won the championship in 2021.

In the women's division, Araki followed her course record 67 with a 1-over 74 on Wednesday but still maintains a one-stroke lead on the field heading into the third round. At 5-under 141, Araki is one stroke clear of Hsin Chun Liao of Chinese Taipei, who carded a 1-under 72 on Wednesday.

Kate McFarlane of Australia and 2022 Australian Women's Amateur champion Fiona Xu, both at 1-under, are the only other two golfers in red numbers at the halfway point.

There will be a 54-hole cut after tomorrow's third round.

Results: Master of the Amateurs

Place	Player	Location	Pts	Scores
1	John Gough	, England	1200	64-74-67-68=273
2	Gregor Tait	, Scotland	900	67-71-68-71=277
3	Chi-Chun Chen	, Chinese Taipei	700	71-72-64-71=278
4	Nick Gabrelcik	Trinity, FL	700	68-74-67-72=281
T5	Robert Moran	, Ireland	700	71-69-72-70=282

View full results for Master of the Amateurs

About the Master of the Amateurs

Ideriha and Araki lead Australian Master of Amateurs

The Master of the Amateurs, a 72-hole medal play Championship, has rapidly become one of the elite championships in amateur golf. Like The Masters, the champion receives a Green Jacket. Contestants participate in the first round of the championship w...