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At last weekend’s Asia-Pacific Amateur, Jasper Stubbs hit the first shot of the event and also the last. Now he’s on his way to the Masters and the Open Championship. The 21-year-old Australian, who helps his father with the family business, got to start the event at Royal Melbourne because of his status on the Australian national team and the fact that the event was being played in his hometown for the second time.
That opening drive led to a 68 that left him two off the lead following Round 1. However, a pair of 74s in the middle had him well back of Sampson Zheng going into Sunday’s finale and with no great chance of winning. But Stubbs closed like he opened — with the second-best round of the day (a 69) — and Zheng stumbled with a 75. Those two fell into a playoff with Wenyi Ding.
The extra holes were a roller coaster.
On the first playoff hole, Stubbs and Ding both made lengthy, curling downhill birdie putts and moved to the second without Zheng, who did not match them. Both putts were jaw-dropping.
The second playoff hole was less dramatic but certainly more meaningful to Stubbs, who, after Ding couldn’t get up and down, tapped in for par to win the event and get into two of the next four major championships.
“The Masters is something every kid’s ever dreamed of,” Stubbs told the Associated Press. “It’s the one tournament that every golfer wants to play in their life and now that that’s going to be the reality for me, I’m speechless, it’s life-changing.
“I’m really excited for April now and also for the Open.”
The experience was even sweeter because this was a true home game for Stubbs, who lives about four and a half Rory McIlroy drives from Royal Melbourne. Here’s Evin Priest of Golf Digest.
What helped Stubbs’ confidence is the number of times he had played Royal Melbourne over the past six years. His parents moved the family from a rural town called Bairnsdale in the…
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Source : cbssports
