GOLF
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Reece Hodson is in a great position to add another Bathurst Golf Club men’s Club Championship title to his name as he carries a four-stroke lead into this weekend’s third round.
Rounds of 77 and 72 have put Hodson on top of the A grade leaderboard, Darryn Bruce being the closest challenger with his total of 153 strokes.
Paul Bright missed last year’s competition with injury and, despite not having the opportunity to get much practice in lately, sits in contention seven shots off Hodson.
There was a surprise leader after the opening round with Don Lamb’s 76 putting him one stroke ahead of a four-strong chasing bunch made up of Hodson, Adam Hodges, Will Casey and Ross McDonald.
Bruce and Bright’s second rounds of 73 on Sunday got them back in the hunt after disappointing opening scores of 80 and 83 respectively.
Hodson was the only player in the field to shoot two sub-80 rounds and he was Hodson pleased with the margin he’s acquired given both his lack of lead-up action and his shaky moments on the back nine.
“The rounds were a bit up and down. The first round I started strongly with a couple of pars and then three straight birdies, but that form fell away through the rest of the round,” he said.
“In the second round I was three under after nine holes, but again slipped on the back nine holes. I haven’t really had the chance to play and practice as much as I have in the past, so four strokes is a nice buffer.
“I’ll keep playing the way I have, not going out there trying to do anything differently. The idea would be to try and get a few early strokes again and hold onto that lead.”
Scores across the board were higher in the opening round, which Hodson put down to some tricky moments for players on the greens.
“The course wasn’t too bad, with a bit of an advantage for the longer hitters on the dry fairways. The greens were a little wet, but in really good condition. The golf club has really looked after them,” he said.
“They were probably a fraction slow compared to what I’m used to, but in saying that my putting wasn’t too good on the weekend.
“Because they were a bit soft and had some traffic on them they showed a few bumps. There were a few spots on there that made it easy to three or four putt some holes. I think everyone was just getting used to the conditions.”
Adam Lavelle’s consistent rounds of 79 and 80 gave him a commanding eight-stroke lead over Ben Mackey in B grade.
John Perfect is aiming to take out the B1 grade title to emulate the effort of his wife Cindy in the women’s Club Champion-ship.
He’s in a great position to make that happen after shooting rounds of 80 and 87 to sit a single stroke clear of Peter Trevor-Jones.
Stephen Finnerty’s 179 has put him at the head of the C grade field. Arthur Clancy is the next best at five strokes back.
This Saturday sees the third round take place.