Mat Goggin flexed his muscles late today to set up a classic New South Wales Senior Open finale on Sunday.
There were a host of big-name moves in a scintillating second round, but it was Tasmanian Goggin’s spectacular seven-under-par 65 that had the appreciative Thurgoona Country Club Resort crowd buzzing.
It’s the proverbial “promoter’s dream” after Goggin’s closing birdie earned him a share of the lead alongside Victorian Euan Walters, who fired his own great 67 hours earlier to reach nine under.
Overnight leader Scott Barr, endured a mixed bag in his second-round 71, but recovered to reach -8 in total, one clear of glamour trio David McKenzie, Peter Lonard and red-hot Queenslander Chris Taylor, locked on seven under.
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Also with striking distance at six and five under, respectively, are the mercurial Terry Pilkadaris and legendary Peter Senior, all but ensuring an action-packed third and final round.
Goggin, on his Australian Legends Tour debut, hit some towering drives to monster Thurgoona’s par-fives, but possibly could have gone even lower had his putter been remotely warm.
“I drove it really well and did what I needed to, getting it up and down when things went a bit astray with the mid-irons,” Goggin said.
“I haven’t been playing a lot, so I’m pretty happy to be in the mix. It’s always tough to win any professional golf tournament and I’ve given myself a chance.”
Walters looked set to blow the field away early when he leapt from the blocks with four birdies in the opening seven holes to assume the lead before cooling on the back nine.
“It’s been a battle this year, but I still love the fight and just lately it’s started to feel better, so hopefully I can keep it going tomorrow,” he said.
Barr struggled for momentum after his opening 65 and feared the worst when he hooked his drive on the 18th hole (his ninth) out of bounds.
The resultant double-bogey sent him tumbling off the leaderboard, but the West Australian journeyman showed great resolve after another bogey on the tough third, chipping in for eagle on the long fourth hole to spark a late rally that yielded two more birdies.
“I think you’ve got to look at the big picture, I’m still right in the hunt and hopefully things work out, I get off to a good start and roll in a couple of putts tomorrow,” Barr said.
“There’s a lot of people around me, so you’re going to have to play your best golf to get away with one tomorrow.”
All of the big names hot on their heels had moments of magic on an entertaining second day, with Pilkadaris having a rollercoaster back nine alongside Goggin and Lonard.
He birdied 11, almost holed out for eagle on 13 and then did chip in for eagle on 14 to race to eight under.
He then stumbled with three straight bogeys from 15 before a birdie bomb on the last steadied the ship.
McKenzie and Lonard looked ominous at times, while Senior didn’t have a lot of luck around the greens.
And Queenslander Taylor, already the winner of 12 Legends Tour events this year, is enjoying the best form of his career and continues to lead the putting stats regularly.
All in all, it’s tough to pick and winner and with the last group off at 12.05pm on Sunday, it’s sure to be a fascinating afternoon of golf.
All the action will be broadcast live on 7Plus from midday Sunday (AEST).
