NSW OPEN: Scrivener the man to beat at Twin Creeks

Scrivener, playing in the penultimate group alongside Lucas Herbert and 2015 champion Ben Eccles, opened with a birdie at the par-4 1^st hole and remained steady throughout the opening nine, turning in three under.

“Kind of felt like I was just plugging away today, wasn’t playing great by any means,” he said. “Kind of stayed patient and had a nice finish.”

Herbert meanwhile piled on six straight birdies beginning at the par-3 2^nd hole to reach 16-under-par and take the outright lead through the opening nine holes. With the most impressive of the streak coming at the 346-metre par-4 7^th, where the Victorian drove the green and converted for birdie after his eagle putt from inside 10-feet slid past.

Lucas Herbert got off to a hot start on Saturday. PHOTO: Andy Zakeli/Golf NSW

After starting the day with a share of the lead, Queenslander Daniel Nisbet emerged as Herbert’s nearest pursuer with three birdies through eight holes. Before a bogey at the par-5 9^th temporarily halted his charge.

Former amateur standout Eccles had been quietly keeping touch with the leaders until an unlikely birdie at the par-5 11^th after nearly hitting his drive out of bounds put him in the conversation with Herbert making an untidy bogey from the middle of the fairway at the same hole.

Nisbet followed Eccles lead and birdied the reachable par-5, starting a run of four straight birdies that propelled him to 18-under and the lead by three as he stood on the tee of the par-5 15^th.

“I holed a couple of good putts there,” Nisbet understatedly said of the stretch.

The 27-year-old walked off the green with a par five that would have felt like a bogey having hit his second shot just short of the green. And following the group ahead of Scrivener, Herbert and Eccles who all posted birdies to keep the pressure on Nisbet, whose lone professional win came at the 2016 Clearwater Bay Open.

Nisbet appeared to be running away with the tournament before reaching the 16th hole. PHOTO: Andy Zakeli/Golf NSW

The Queenslander then came unravelled at the difficult par-4 16^th hole where his approach landed just beyond the green, taking a kick forward off a downslope to find woodchips. Nisbet’s chip then failed to reach the green, spinning back down the hill. With the Queenslander eventually tapping in for double bogey six and a share of the lead with Scrivener who birdied the hole. Adding a third straight birdie at the short par-3 next to reach 17-under.

“It just went over the green and that’s probably the one green you don’t want to miss it long on,” Nisbet said of the error on 16.

Scrivener continued his tidy play at the dogleg left final hole, securing a par four and the overnight lead by one shot after Nisbet parred his way in for four-under and Herbert bogeyed the 17^th to finish at five-under for the day and 16-under for the tournament.

FINAL LEADERBOARD

World No.274 Scrivener acknowledged that his previous falls at the final hurdle would be on his mind, but was positive the layout and conditions would suit him on Sunday.

“I think although there is a lot of birdies out there it’s a matter of just keeping mistakes off the card and being patient and waiting for those little spurts where you can make a few birdies and I’ll try and do that tomorrow,” Scrivener said after the round.

Having started the day with a share of the lead Jarryd Felton shot an even par 72 to drop back into a tie for 6^th needing a low final round to be among the chances. While fellow overnight leader Kramer Hickok had a day to forget on Saturday, firing a 75 with his lone highlight coming at the par-3 14^th, where he produced an up and down par having missed the green short and right, looking set to make bogey at best.

“That was the highlight of the day,” the American said of the par after the round. “It was such a bad day if it came back to my feet it wasn’t going to be the biggest deal in the world it was just going to be another one of those breaks.”