New South Wales Men's Amateur: Declan O'Donovan continues his hot play
Declan O'Donovan (NSW Golf Photo)
It might have been another roller-coaster ride in his second round, but it has resulted in another decisive win for Avondale’s Declan O’Donovan in the NSW Medal.
O’Donovan carded a handy 5-under 67 at a windswept Belmont Golf Club today to go with his opening two-under-par effort yesterday at Pacific Dunes to add more silverware to his growing trophy cabinet.
His seven-under-par total is good enough for a two-shot win over former Dubbo representative Lachie Jones, who carded a tidy 3-under 69 in the calmer morning conditions at Belmont.
Overnight co-leader Sam Cascio finished another shot back at four under after battling to a 1-over 73 at Pacific Dunes alongside Moore Park’s Josh Boaz. However, the pair’s 4-under finish allowed them to share the NSW Club Champion of Champions crown.
O’Donovan, however, was the man of the moment and was delighted to know he had collected medallist honors.
“It was just as much fun out here as yesterday,” O’Donovan Grinned. “Pac (Pacific) Dunes is tight, and it’s wide open here, but it was windy.”
Much like yesterday, O’Donovan’s scorecard again looked like a roller-coaster, but he admitted it was part of planning his round and playing to the conditions.
“I knew I could attack on the downwind holes, but also I could make a couple of bogeys or pars on the harder upwind holes. It was going to be perfectly fine.”
O’Donovan also admitted it was strange to put together a round that included more eagles, birdies, and bogies than he had pars.
“I don’t do it very often, that’s for sure.”
With his victory in the Medal, O’Donovan also secured the top seeding in the Matchplay competition, which gets underway tomorrow at Belmont. Being part of the victorious NSW team in last year’s interstate series added to his anticipation for the knockout phase.
“I’m not sure how tomorrow will turn out, but I’m going to play my best, and I am looking forward to versing a couple of mates.”
“Winning the interstate team last year was a fantastic feeling, and I still remember pretty clearly how good that felt, so I’m ready for the battle.”
Also delighted with his efforts was former Dubbo young gun Lachie Jones. The 21-year-old, who relocated to Queensland almost 18 months ago, was virtually faultless over the two rounds, dropping just one shot in 36 holes of golf.
The former NSW Junior State Team Captain and Club Champ at Dubbo said it was a performance that came after making a vital change to his putting technique.
“I changed to cross-handed a couple of days ago after putting pretty badly at Avondale last week and didn’t miss many putts out there.”
Recap courtesy of David Tease of NSW Golf
ABOUT THE NSW Men's Amateur
The NSW Medal is played over two courses. It is
two rounds of 18-holes stroke play and then match
play.
The field is evenly divided between the two
venues for the first day’s play with players
changing venues for their second round. The winner
of
the 36 holes stroke play
section of the Championship is the winner of the
NSW Medal.
The leading 32 players from the NSW Medal
(who have nominated to play in the NSW
Amateur) will be eligible to compete in the NSW
Amateur Championship Match Play, with each
match played over 18-holes other than the Final
which is played over 36-holes. The match play is
seeded with ties determined by lot.
View Complete Tournament Information