He played extremely consistent golf scoring rounds of 69,69,67,67 to finish fourth 16 under par. Overall he scored 20 birdies and an eagle with his birdies on 17 and 18 in the final round the difference between fourth and 11th. In fact he played the back nine nicely under par each day which showed his temperament under pressure was strong.
“It sets me up nicely through to the end of May as I now look forward to three weeks in Australia leading into the NZ Open. I will play the Victorian Open then two State events in Queensland.” The Victorian Open is a co-sanctioned European Tour event with Aus$1.6 million prizemoney and is played alongside the LPGA event on the same course , something he is really looking forward to.
It has been a pivotal few weeks in Anstiss’ fledgling professional career.
In December he received the trophy and plaudits for being the top performer in the 2019 Jennian Homes Charles Tour events. He won the Muriwai and Harewood Opens and finished fourth at Akarana and 11th at Pegasus.
He could not play the final event, the Mount Open as he was readying for the Australian PGA Championship. This gave Luke Toomey the opportunity to head Anstiss with a three way tie for second or better however his sixth place fell short.“It was great to win this trophy as these events are the pinnacle for us on the NZPGA calendar. The opportunities the tour provides are fantastic because of experience we get dealing with the pressures and excitement of four round tournaments.
He then finished second at The Hills ProAm early in January before flying to the USA immediately after for Mexico qualifying “I can’t wait to come home and play the courses I know in Arrowtown. Then after the NZ Open I head back to Mexico for three months and the first nine events on the tour. The first event starts March 5th. After that players are re ranked for the rest of the tour so I will be looking for some good finishes. On any weeks off I will try and play Monday qualifying on the Korn Ferry PGA tour or the Adams Mini Tour depending on what fits my schedule.”
Anstiss will certainly be one to watch at the 2020 New Zealand Open Presented by Sky Sport.
Article courtsey: Neville Idour
