Golf

Despite Australian domination in the men's team rankings, South Korean Heo Ji-baek placed number one in the individual table after two days of APGC competition. Photos of VGA

HẢI PHÒNG — Australia stayed strong, topping the ranking table after day two of the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC) Senior Amateur Championships.

Building on their fast start in the opening round on October 30, the Australian quartet of Ken Brewer, Peter Bennett, David Gannon and Bradley Dowling surged clear in the men’s event over the Marsh Course at Vinpearl Golf, Hải Phòng.

With Brewer and Bennett both firing three-under 69s and Gannon contributing a 73, Australia posted a 5-under 211 result in the event, in which the best three daily scores in each four-man team are counted.

Australia hold a seemingly unassailable 13-stroke advantage from South Korea, with New Zealand one shot further back in third ahead of the final round on November 1.

In the battle for individual honours, South Korean Heo Ji-baek will spearhead the attempt to prevent an Australian clean sweep to take all four pieces of silverware on offer.

Putting masterfully, he carded a second successive two-under 70 to lead the men’s standings on 140 – one in front of Brewer, two ahead of Bennett and three clear of fellow-Korean Kim Dong-sub.

In joint fifth on 146 and still with realistic ambitions of claiming the individual title, are New Zealand’s Stuart Duff, the 2019 champion and joint runner-up last year, and Hong Kong China’s Jay Won.

Brewer, who was five-under for his round today, before running up a double-bogey six at the 15th, said there would be no complacency among the Australian players.

“When you have a big lead, you have to have the mindset to go out there and make as many pars as possible. Pars are golden,” said the 64-year-old, who was part of the triumphant Australian team in the APGC Seniors in Malaysia in 2022, when he finished third individually.

Meanwhile, in a tighter women's contest on the adjacent lake course, the trio of Sue Wooster, Gemma Dooley and Louise Mullard saw their overnight four-shot lead reduced to three by the resilient Japanese duo of Haruko Hirabayashi and Shiori Uchiyama.

Australian Sue Wooster (right) leads the women's event.

Despite a three-putt bogey on the 18th hole, defending champion Wooster signed for a 1-under 71, the first sub-par return of the tournament by a female. With a 143 total, she is two in front of compatriot Dooley and Japan’s Hirabayashi.

Hosts Việt Nam failed to put their name in the leading group of either category. The men were at number six among 14 teams, while the women were at the bottom of the eight-side competition. VNS