Buckle And Gates Set The Pace At Coolum

Sunshine Coast, December 9, 2010 - With a star studded field assembled at Coolum for the Australian PGA Championship presented by Coca-Cola, no one would have predicted that it would be Queenslander Andrew Buckle and American Robert Gates that would lead the chase for the Joe Kirkwood Cup on day one.

Gates joined morning pacesetter Andrew Buckle at the top of the leaderboard at eight-under following a low-scoring day at the Hyatt Regency Coolum in the final event of OneAsia and the PGA Tour of Australasia.

Buckle made the most of the ideal morning conditions holing eight birdies on the way to a round of 64, while Gates, who earlier this year won the New Zealand Open, began his round with an eagle and picked up seven more birdies to dominate the afternoon field.

Local Sunshine Coast professional Steven Bowditch currently shares third place two shots back at six-under with China’s number one player Liang Wenchong and PGA Tour of Australasia veteran Peter Fowler.

Matthew Millar, James Nitties, Andre Stolz, Kieran Pratt and Japan's Akio Sadakata all sit in equal sixth position at five-under par.

A further 10 players sit in equal 11th position at four-under par including Matthew Griffin, Rod Pampling and New Zealander Gareth Paddison.

Of the tournament headliners, 2010 Australian Open champion Geoff Ogilvy finished at two-under alongside defending champion Robert Allenby, while US import John Daly is at one-under par.

Adam Scott finished the day at one-over with the help of a quadruple bogey eight at the par-four 13th where he found the water twice.

For Aussie leader Buckle, who has gone four years since his last win on the Nationwide Tour, the round was a promising sign for what has otherwise been a disappointing season.

"Today I just tried to get back to just using my instincts a little bit which I haven't really done since I was a kid, so it was a lot of fun to play that way again instead of just thinking about my swing," said Buckle who said he needs to overcome his self-doubt in order to succeed at the highest level.

“I love playing golf for a living and I love doing this as a job and it’s all I’ve ever wanted to do so it’s not easy at times; you travel a lot, you’re away from family, you get away from friends, close friends and things like that – I love it too much- I’ll keep going and get there.”

Gates, who in 2011 will play the US PGA Tour after finishing in the Top 25 on the2010 Nationwide Tour moneylist, said he put the performance down to his relaxed attitude that comes with being on ‘vacation’.

“It’s a long way to come but we enjoy it, it's kind of carefree so we come down and look at it as a way to relax and work on our game while it’s cold at home,” said Gates.

“It’s been awesome, this is one of the National Championships down here and it’s a way for the Australian guys to showcase that they are some of the best players in the world so to come down here and see how my game stacks up against them is pretty awesome.”

Following his win earlier in the year in New Zealand, Gates is also in contention to win the 2010 PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit which, if he wins, will give him exemptions into a number of Majors and World Golf Championship events.

China's hero Liang Wenchong is similarly well-placed for the OneAsia Order of Merit title.

He scored a six-under 66 to share joint third with Australia's Steven Bowditch and Peter Fowler. He was on a morning roll with six birdies but missed three putts on the back nine, costing him a second place finish behind the leaders.

"I feel really good about today - It has been an encouraging start and I feel that half the battle has been won with a good beginning," said Liang.

"The course has been wet by the rain in the past week so these softer and wetter conditions are better for me. My coach, Kel Llewellyn, has helped me with my swing over the past three years so I have felt more confident this year."

Having taken victories at the 2010 season-opening Luxehills Chengdu Open and the Thailand Open, the 32-year-old Zhongshan resident is hoping for yet another win to finish the OneAsia season on a high note. He will tee off early tomorrow at 6.10am again alongside Round 1 buddies Daly and Allenby.

Gates is also off early at 6.30am, while Buckle tees off at 11.20am.