Josh Armstrong took a while to get rolling, but the big rig found top gear just in time to nab the final trophy of the New South Wales Open qualifying series today.
Armstrong, a native Canberran now based in Sydney, carved out a sublime, bogey-free six-under-par 64 on familiar Queanbeyan turf to hold off some bold challenges.
His 9-under total proved just enough to fend off the fast-finishing Corey Lamb (66) at eight under, while Rick Kulacz (64) and Blake Windred (67) were each bogey-free in reaching seven under.
They were joined in a share of third by joint overnight leader Will Florimo (69), who started well but couldn’t go with the chasing pack as it roared past.
Armstrong, 25, opened his tournament with a bogey on Tuesday and was still one over when he turned on to the back nine in the first round.
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But he parlayed four back-nine birdies yesterday into another four today, then capped it with a stunning 10m eagle putt on the par-5 16th to ultimately seal victory.
“Overall I played really well, my putter was good today and it was pretty nice to make that big one on the 16th right when I needed to,” Armstrong said.
“I’ve been playing better than my results suggest, so it’s really nice to get reward for effort.
“And I’m really glad to do it with mum (Lynne) here and at a course I know so well … I’ve played a lot of golf here and I think that probably helped me out a bit.”
Kulacz, the 2006 NSW Open champion, was outstanding in setting the clubhouse mark for Armstrong to chase. The West Australian veteran is building back to his best form and sent a shiver through the field when he surged to seven under with the long 16th to play.
But his long birdie try on the par-5 agonisingly hung over the lip and his momentum stalled.
He was joined in qualifying for the NSW Open at Murray Downs in November by Lamb and the home club’s assistant professional, Trent Britton.
Despite the final nine holes being played in miserable conditions, Britton had a generous gallery following him when he surged up the leaderboard with three successive birdies from the ninth.
But his chance slipped with his missed par putt on the short 15thas he closed with a 68 to be six under. The NSW Open will be played at Murray Downs from November 14-17.
