Sport
9 February, 2023
Chris Thomson follows stunning Ballarat round with qualification for the Victorian Open
Maryborough golfer Chris Thomson has continued his stunning run of form on the golf course, qualifying for his first Victorian Open which started yesterday. Following Thomson’s unbelievable performance at the Ballarat Golf Club, where he was able...
Maryborough golfer Chris Thomson has continued his stunning run of form on the golf course, qualifying for his first Victorian Open which started yesterday.
Following Thomson’s unbelievable performance at the Ballarat Golf Club, where he was able to defend his district men’s golf title, Thomson excelled in qualifying for the prestigious tournament, shooting an excellent round of four-under 68 to finish as the second best qualifier on the 13th Beach Golf Course at Curlewis.
It meant that Thomson was able to add his name to a list of considerable star power on the course throughout both the men’s and women’s competition, with seven-time LPGA major winner Karrie Webb one of the headline names, while men’s golfers such as 2014 champion Matthew Griffin and Korn Ferry Tour regular Ryan Ruffels will also participate.
Thomson said that it was an honour to be able to play in his home state for such a big event.
“I’ve played in a couple of WA Opens, as well as a few lower-tier competitions, but this is the first time I’ve been able to play the Vic Open,” he said.
“I’ve been in good form. It’s been good to play some good golf, and getting an opportunity to play in the tournament. Hopefully I can keep it going.”
Thomson said that the considerable amount of pro golfers playing in the tournament meant that he could watch and learn from some of the best as he practiced during the week, while he would also get the opportunity to tee off with 683rd ranked amateur Connor McDade, as well as pro player Tim Walker, in the first round.
“It’s good to be able to have a putt on the putting green, playing the same holes as some of the really good golfers, and getting to pick up on stuff that they are doing,” he said.
“It’s good to get my game back at a level that allows me to go against the best. It’s a good stepping stone to continue to improve in the game. I get to tee off with a pro and a top amateur and it’s a good opportunity to play and mix with them in front of a good crowd on a good course. It’s a good chance to get my level up.”
Thomson was due to tee off a 9.09 am yesterday morning as part of the last group to tee off at the Curlewis Creek Course in the morning session.
While calm conditions were forecast, Thomson provided an insight into the big difference between teeing off in early morning conditions, where the weather tends to be more still, compared to a later morning tee-off time, where the wind can also pick up.
“The wind plays a bigger part on the beach courses. There’s calm conditions forecast. We played a practice round prior to the tournament and found that the wind can certainly be a big factor. I look forward to the morning rounds, but the afternoon can be a bit trickier and it can blow up. There is a bit of luck in the draw, but there’s good weather forecast over the first two rounds — I have to take advantage of the good conditions,” he said.
Having prior knowledge of the course has also helped Thomson, saying that he can devise a game plan where he can pick and choose where to play aggressive shots, while also ensuring he can play defensive shots so he can preserve even par on holes.
“I played an amateur tournament at Curlewis not too long ago, which held me in good stead. I only got beaten by a couple of shots there, but I have good memories of that course. I started to know where to attack and defend through the course,” he said.
Thomson said that being able to understand the course meant he could throw caution to the wind during his qualifying round, where he was unable to know other golfers’ scores until his round was completed.
“Qualifying was always going to be a bit different, you had to guess the score everyone was at throughout. Sometimes you can miss out by one shot, and sometimes you can make it by one shot. It was a bit of a shootout, and I had a good understanding of where I stood and how I was going. I ended up finishing equal second at four under in qualifying, so I was in pretty comfortably,” he said.
Thomson had one goal in mind for the tournament.
“I’d love to make the cut over 36 holes, and get through to the third round. I would love to play all four rounds. But to simplify it, I have to play one shot at a time over two different courses. It will be interesting to see which course suits. It’s all up in the air at the moment, but I’ll just give it my best shot,” he said.
After Thursday’s play, Thomson will be starting on seven-over when play resumes this morning.