Curtis Luck, once the world’s No.1 amateur, laid down a marker to claim his first PGA Tour of Australasia win this season after a gruelling opening day of the New Zealand PGA Championship.
As the circuit returned to the magical Paraparaumu Beach Golf Club on New Zealand’s north island, Luck emerged from a difficult test to share the early lead on Thursday.
The Western Australian is trying to rebuild his body – and career – after years of injury issues and indifferent fortune on the Korn Ferry Tour, and is starting to reap the reward of a regular schedule closer to home.
The 29-year-old fired a three-under 67 in the morning wave to tie local Sungjin Yeo.
Luck’s arrival into New Zealand was delayed until Tuesday night meaning he had to take a crash course on the course during Wednesday’s Pro-Am. He acknowledged he will still be learning about the course on Sunday.
“This place is so special,” Luck said. “It’s unbelievable. Potentially best course of the year, I reckon. So good. It’s really tough and very, very severe. So hopefully we get some decent weather over the next four days because it’s pretty brutal as it is.
“It’s probably not the best golf course to under-prepare on. There are some that you can get away with. This one … there’s so much going on. It’s so intricate.”
Luck mixed six birdies with three bogeys as the rest of the field, particularly the afternoon wave, struggled to make any impact on the leaderboard. Only 10 players finished the first round under par.
Todd Sinnott and Zach Murray shared third at two-under with Sinnott finishing with a flurry of three birdies.
Kiwi Josh Geary is lurking ominously with a steady one-under 69, featuring just two birdies and a bogey.
But the top New Zealander at the end of the first day was Yeo, who came close to winning his country’s PGA Championship several years ago.
“I love the course, but I’ve never actually played really good on this course,” he said. “This is my first time playing well at this course.”
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