The first staging of the Memorial Pro-Am since the passing of the much-loved Glenn Joyner last August, Glenn’s father Barry and son Brad were part of the pro-am and were on hand to congratulate all five of the winners.

On the back of his win at Flagstaff Hill the day prior, Norris looked set to make it two-from-two when he arrived to the 18th tee at 5-under par.

The South Australian would three-put his final hole, however, for a double-bogey, his 3-under 67 matched by David Crawford, Brad Burns, Tim Elliott and Lucien Tinkler.

HOW THE WINNING ROUNDS UNFOLDED

All five scores of 3-under 67 would come in the afternoon groups and in vastly different fashion.

With a birdie at his opening hole and eagle at the short 206-metre par-4 sixth, Norris was the one to set the early pace.

He pushed out to 5-under on his round with birdies at 10 and 13 but a birdie on 17 wedged between a bogey and double-bogey would restrict Norris to a 3-under total.

Burns had just one bogey in his round of 67 highlighted by an eagle at the par-5 first while Tinkler made his run late, playing the front nine in 4-under 30 after starting his day from the 10th tee.

Elliott had four birdies and a single bogey to match the best score of the day as Crawford earned his first PGA Legends Tour win courtesy of four birdies, an eagle and three bogeys.

LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
T1        David Crawford            67
T1        Brad Burns                   67
T1        Jason Norris                 67
T1        Tim Elliott                     67
T1        Lucien Tinkler               67
T6        David Fearns                68
T6        Euan Walters                68
T6        Mark Boulton               68
T6        Peter Fowler                 68

NEXT UP

The PGA Legends Tour has a short break now before the SA PGA Senior Foursomes Championship at Mount Gambier Golf Club, David McKenzie, Peter Senior and Terry Price among the entries.

Norris had five birdies, five bogeys, seven pars and his eagle on 13 in a round of 2-under 70, tied at top spot with playing partner Nicholas Robb (70) and Euan Walters (70).

Tied for 37th at The National Tournament presented by BMW, the final event of the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia season, Norris took pitching wedge at the 128-metre 13th, a shot that would ultimately elevate him into a three-way tie for the win.

“The hole-in-one was fantastic,” said Norris.

“I was actually all over the joint today. I had a lot of bogeys, a lot of birdies and then the ‘one’ to top it off.”

HOW THE WINNING ROUNDS UNFOLDED

Paired together and starting from the fifth tee, the pattern of scoring was established early.

Norris went bogey-birdie-bogey-birdie-bogey-birdie over his first six holes, Robb going about things very differently.

Robb had the one birdie and 10 pars in his opening 11 holes but found himself two back when Norris followed a birdie at 12 with his hole-in-one on 13.

Back-to-back bogeys at 15 and 16 dropped Norris to 1-under on his round and with a one-stroke advantage over Robb.

A birdie on 18 saw Robb draw level, the pair closing out their rounds with matching birdies at the par-5 fourth.

With bogeys at two and three Walters found himself on the back foot early. He birdied four and seven to get back to 1-over but climbed into contention with three birdies in the space of five holes to start the back nine.

WHAT THE WINNERS SAID

Jason Norris: “It was a good day and a good group with Nicholas and a couple of the sponsors from Ray White.

Euan Walters: “We did use to play here a lot in the South Australian Pro-Am circuit so I know the course pretty well.

“It is pretty tight but you do get rewarded for good shots so it’s great to be back here.

“I love this place and I love playing golf in South Australia.”

Nicholas Robb: “It’s great to play with a quality player like Jason. I saw the draw and I was really pleased to see that I was playing with him.

“We know each other from a long way back and when you’re playing with a top-level player like Jase, it certainly helps you to focus a little bit more.

“I just tried to stay calm on the golf course and play the shots the best I could. Two-under and it worked out, which was quite a nice surprise.”

LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN

T1        Jason Norris                 70
T1        Nicholas Robb             70
T1        Euan Walters                70
T4        Adam Henwood          71
T4        Michael Long               71
T4        Paul Powell                   71
7          Mark Boulton               72

The first event in the PGA Legends Tour’s South Australian swing, Scott Ford and Michael Isherwood both posted rounds of 1-under 69 to lead the way in the morning groups.

When Diaz made birdie on the back of a brilliant approach shot into the par-4 18th to go 4-under, those morning scores didn’t look to be anywhere near good enough.

But arguably the toughest stretch of the tight, twisting Aston Hills Golf Club layout would bring Diaz undone, dropping shots at each of his final three holes to finish tied with Ford and Isherwood.

HOW THE WINNING ROUNDS UNFOLDED

Isherwood and Ford were out early on Wednesday, Isherwood starting his round from the third hole, Ford from the sixth.

Courtesy of birdies at six, seven and 10, Isherwood was 3-under through his first eight holes but back-to-back three-putts at 14 and 15 saw him drop back to 1-under.

While Isherwood made his charge early, Ford left his run until late.

He traded a birdie with a bogey at 10 and 11 and after a bogey at one found himself 1-over with two holes to play.

He got back to even par with a birdie at the par-3 fourth and then found the crucial final birdie at the par-5 fifth to match Isherwood’s round.

Diaz signalled his intent early in the afternoon wave, making birdie at his second and third holes.

He moved to 4-under with an eagle at the 274-metre par-4 11th but gave one back at the next, the par-3 12th.

He got back to 4-under with his birdie on 18 but would give up three shots in his final three holes.

WHAT THE WINNERS SAID

Michael Isherwood: “I was 3-under early but with these greens it’s pretty difficult not to have a three-putt at some point. I had a couple of those and hung on for the rest of the way.

“I played here about 30 years ago and it’s a brilliant course. Great condition, beautiful setting but tricky. The fairways, greens, very difficult to keep it in the right position.

“First win on the Legends Tour so very, very pleased.”

Scott Ford: “Lovely golf course. Pleasure to be here.

“You had to golf your ball really well. “Very tricky golf course. Lot of local knowledge needed but I’ve never been here before so I had no idea.

“It all comes down to Terry Price. He’s a great coach.”

LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN

T1        Michael Isherwood      69
T1        Scott Ford                    69
T1        David Diaz                   69
4          Michael Long               70
5          Jason Norris                 71
T6        Shane Johnson            72
T6        Ian Devlin                     72
T6        Adam Henwood          72
T6        Steve Conran               72