Geary long shot at Aussie Open win
Kiwi golfer Josh Geary has an outside chance of claiming the biggest victory of his career at the Australian
Open.
Geary sits in a share of fifth at sixunder ahead of the final day, continuing his solid tournament which has seen him remain in the top five for all three rounds.
Yesterday’s round, a one-under 69, moved him to six-under, but dropped him two spots on the leaderboard as several players went low.
Major champion and home favourite Adam Scott leads at 11-under after a 67, while Poland’s Adrian Meronk shot the round of the day with a 63 moving him to 10-under as the world No 56 hunts for a victory that would move him inside the top 50 cut-off for an invite to the Masters next year.
Australian duo Haydn Barron and Min Woo Lee sit a shot ahead of Geary, who is tied with Ireland’s Conor Purcell.
The tournament has been cut to the top 30 and ties for the final round due to being run in conjunction with the women’s event, with the men and women playing at the same time at Victoria Golf Club near Melbourne.
That means Geary will be joined by just one other Kiwi in the men’s final round, with Luke Toomey shooting 67 yesterday to move into a share of 12th at four-under.
Ryan Fox missed the final cut by one after dropping three shots in his final six holes, while fellow Kiwis Kit Bittle and Daniel Hillier and Australian world No 3 Cameron Smith also made the 36-hole cut but not the 54-hole cut.
In the women’s event, 17-year-old Kiwi amateur Fiona Xu continued her strong week, with rounds of 68, 77 and 72 putting her in a tie for 16th at even-par, while Momoka Kobori also made the 54-hole cut at six-over in a share of 27th. Five Kiwis made the 36-hole cut but not any further.
Former world No 1 and two-time British Open winner Jiyai Shin leads at 14-under, a shot ahead of 2022 British Open winner Ashleigh Buhai, while Australia’s Hannah Green is third at 12-under. With a further three shots back to fourth place, a threeway battle for victory is likely this afternoon.