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HE may have let an ideal chance for his second top 10 finish of the Web.Com Tour season slip yesterday, but Bathurst professional golfer Gavin Coles was still able to take plenty of positives away from the Air Capital Classic.
Staged on the newly converted par-70 Crestview Country Club course in Wichita, Kansas, Coles carded his best round of the season thus far to be tied second after the opening day of play – a six-under 64.
Thanks largely to that effort he was in 11th with 18 holes left to play yesterday, but a four-over 74 saw him finish in tied 38th position.
It meant he was unable to add a second top 10 finish to his 2014 record, a tied seventh in May’s BMW Charity Pro-Am standing as his best effort thus far on the circuit which ranks second to the PGA Tour.
He currently sits in 58th position on the Web.Com Tour’s money list and if Coles wishes to gain a PGA Tour card for 2015, he needs to be in the top 25 by season’s end.
It is a big task, but if he can produce more rounds like his opening 18 holes at the Air Capital Classic he will have a realistic shot at doing so.
In his bogey-free round he found eight of 14 fairways, hit 14 greens in regulation and took 26 putts as he carded six birdies.
It put him into a three-way share of second spot, one stroke behind then leader Aaron Watkins.
“Six-under and no bogeys, that was pretty good, it was a lot of fun,” Coles said.
“It wasn’t perfect, I hit a few balls into the rough off the tee, I need to drive it a little bit straighter.
“Every course that is short and tight and got a lot of rough, everyone thinks I should play well on and I’ve been trying to fulfil that.
“Unfortunately I haven’t been playing at my best, but we’re slowly coming around.”
The round of 64 was Coles’ lowest opening score in seven appearances at the Air Capital Classic and the man who turned professional in 1992 was keen to build on that effort.
Back in 2006 he fired a 61 in his second round at the tournament to be tied with Matt Kuchar for the lead after 36 holes and while he could not replicate that this time around, Coles still kept himself in contention for the win.
He birdied four of the first eight holes and while bogeying the par-four ninth, turned at three-under the card. His run back to the clubhouse was tougher given a double bogey on the 16th and another dropped shot on the 18th, but a birdie on the par-five 14th saw him card a one-under 69.
“I got to 10-under after eight holes today but I made one pretty easy bogey on number nine and I think I lost my momentum,” Coles said. “I didn’t really make any putts on the back nine, but that’s golf.”
His third round saw a mixed opening nine as a bogey on the first and double bogey at six were cancelled out by birdies on the third and fifth holes.
Coles’ back nine was better as he grouped seven pars with back-to-back birdies on 14 and 15 to card a two-under 68 and be in reach of the top 10 with a round to play.
Unfortunately for Coles that round was his worst for the tournament as he fired a four-over 74 and slipped to tied 38th.
He will be hoping to improve on that finish this weekend when he contests the United Leasing Championships which offers a total purse of $US600,000.