New Zealander Josh Geary leads the Fiji International after a windswept first round.
Playing in one of the last groups of the day, Geary stormed home with two birdies in his last four holes to shoot an even par 72.
Geary was the only player in the first round to shot even par with his nearest competitors two shots further back.
Also playing in the afternoon field was tournament drawcard Matt Kuchar, who was pleased to be finished at 2-over the card.
Kuchar’s round was highlighted by an unusual situation on the par-4 2nd, where the wind literally blew his ball into the hole.
Alistair Presnell , Daniel Nisbet, R.J. Caracella and Australian Masters Champion Nick Cullen also join Kuchar tied second on 2-over 74.
Rounding out the top-10 on 3-over the card are Peter Cooke, James Nitties, Scott Laycock and Mathew Goggin.
Meanwhile Antonio Murdaca in his Pro debut finished the first round on 4-over the card after briefly co-leading with Kuchar.
The first round was suspended due to darkness with two groups still to finish their rounds tomorrow morning at 6.30am. Round 2 will commence at 6.15am as scheduled.
For all round 1 scores please visit pga.org.au.
For all round 2 tee times please visit pga.org.au
Key quotes:
Josh Geary, Round 1, even par 72
“All in all it was a hard day and I’m pretty happy with 72.”
“It’s always good when your winning and I think today a lot of that was freed up and just be able to play the game without having to get to tied up with how hard it was and I just went out there and did what I could with what I had.”
Daniel Nisbet, Round 1, 2-over 74
“It was tough going out there early with the rain, keeping everything dry was tough, I got to about 5-over at one point and decided that I needed to pull my head in and make a few birdies. Luckily the rain stopped, the wind stayed but I was able to make birdies.”
“In these conditions it’s tough. You don’t go out there and play aggressively, you go out there and play defensively just so you don’t make a big number; you’re not really trying to make birdies you’re trying not to make doubles.”
Nick Cullen, Round 1, 2-over 74
“I wouldn’t want to make it too easy on the other guys, we had the rain and the big winds this morning, so as long as the wind stays up and gives them a bit of a test it will be good to watch the scores and watch a bit of golf.”
“This is sort of links weather, so this is definitely a lot tougher but it’s just good to be out here and having a little bit of fun, that’s all you can do.”
Matt Kuchar, Round 1, 2-over 74
“It felt like survival for sure, after I played Tuesday and Wednesday I don’t think I sniffed breaking 80 yesterday; I knew this course was really hard with this much wind.”
“I gave it a second, because I knew my putt earlier had rolled backwards, and sure enough the wind finally took it and blew it right back into the hole. I’m not sure I have ever witnessed that, I always thought that it could happen, so it was kind of fun that it happened to me today.”
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