Murdaca makes his move

Two Australians – Antonio Murdaca and Todd Sinnott – sit atop the leaderboard midway through the Asian-Pacific Amateur at Royal Melbourne. Steve Keipert reports

BY STEVE KEIPERT at ROYAL MELBOURNE

South Australian Antonio Murdaca took advantage of kinder morning weather at Royal Melbourne to forge a one-stroke edge at the midpoint of the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship.

He sits in front of first-round leader Todd Sinnott, who displayed a patient maturity in shooting a 71 during the afternoon to earn a place in the final group tomorrow.

Antonio Murdaca took advantage of good scoring conditions to claim the 36-hole lead. PHOTO: Brett Crockford/AAC

Conversely, Murdaca played through the strongest breezes yesterday and recorded an impressive 69 before enjoying friendlier conditions this morning to shoot one lower. The 19-year-old, who went by the first name Anthony when he was winning the 2010 and 2013 Australian Junior Championships, made just one bogey today in setting the halfway lead at seven-under-par.

Murdaca, who was born in Adelaide to Italian parents, leaned on his stellar short game in making a pair of key par saves mid-round to maintain momentum.

"My short game's always helped me out a fair bit," Murdaca said. "We're quite lucky out here - the surrounds around the greens are great.

"I like to be a little aggressive but I think over the years I've learnt to be conservative in the right time. So I think I'm slowly growing as a player and understanding the way the game should be played."

Another to figure things out on Friday was overnight leader Sinnott, who dropped two strokes early before recording a pair of crucial twos on his scorecard. The first came at the long uphill par-3 16th then - more spectacularly - at the par-4 1st as he made the turn. Sinnott's 54-degree wedge from 141 metres released on the firm green and eased left towards the cup before tumbling in. That eagle sparked a solid second nine blotted only by a bogey at the 8th hole. The Melburnian remains just one shot off the pace starting the weekend.

"The more times you can put yourself in a situation to win, the better you become and the more comfortable you become under pressure," Sinnott said. "I struggled early today. I didn't feel that comfortable with any part of my game, to be honest. But I managed to turn it around through the middle stretch and hit some good shots."

Thailand's Tawan Phongphun is three shots off the pace. PHOTO: Brett Crockford/AAC

Guan Tianlang, the 2012 winner of the Asia-Pacific Amateur, lurks ominously four strokes off the lead, one shot behind fellow Chinese player Cheng Jin and Thai golfer Tawan Phongphun. Guan was unusually unsteady for much of his round, mixing bogeys with birdies before solidifying his round to card a one-over 73. His silky touch around the greens keeps him as a threat to the leaders.

The championship bid farewell to almost half its players, some of whom carded scores that Test cricketers would be proud of. However, their experiences at Royal Melbourne this week will stand them in good stead as their amateur careers flourish overseas. All ten Australians survived the cut, most remaining in touching distance of the leaders.

LEADERBOARD

1. Antonio Murdaca (SA) 69-68–137

2. Todd Sinnott (Vic) 67-71–138

T3. Tawan Phongphun (Tha) 69-71–140

T3. Cheng Jin (PRC) 71-69–140

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9. Ryan Ruffels (Vic) 71-71–142

10. Cory Crawford (Qld) 71-72–143

T11. Jarryd Felton (WA) 73-71–144

T11. Geoff Drakeford (Vic) 73-71–144

T22. Lucas Herbert (Vic) 76-70–146

T29. Curtis Luck (WA) 74-74–148