CHARLESTOWN prodigy Blake Windred is up for the fight after clawing his way back into contention at the US Amateur Championships with a brilliant two-under at Spyglass Hill on Wednesday to seal a place in the matchplay section.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Windred entered the second round tied for 104th after finishing his first round with a triple bogey to be at three over.
But the 20-year-old, wiped the disappointment aside to produce a near faultless round and move to a tie for 24th at one over.
Aberdeen’s Gold Coast-based Dylan Perry jumped to equal 10th after firing a three-under 68 at Pebble Beach to be at one-under.
The top 64 progress to the matchplay section, starting Thursday.
“After finishing bogey-triple yesterday, as hard as it was at the time, I tried to stay positive, and today I just got out there and played solid golf,” Windred said. “My mental game has improved so much. I obviously still have a long way to go, but two years ago I probably wouldn’t have been able to bounce back like I did today. I made some of the craziest up and downs on 12 and 13 to keep things rolling through a tough couple of holes.”
Windred opened with a birdie at the first on Wednesday and added another at the fourth. His only blemish was a bogey on the eighth, but he rebounded with a birdie at the ninth and then reeled off nine straight pars on the back nine.
“I played so solid, just like yesterday to be honest,” he said. “Just staying in the moment and focusing on the shot I was hitting. The pins are in tough positions at Spyglass and it was tough. I have only missed two shots the past two days which is probably a record for me. It shows how good you have to play around these tracks. In the match play I’m expecting tough matches and I’m going to put up a fight that’s for sure.”
On top of his stellar round, Windred also got the chance to meet with legend, Jack Nicklaus, whose 49-year-old son Gary is in the field.
“I saw him on the range yesterday and said g’day. Then after my round today, I walked past him again,” Windred said. “He saw my NSW hat, and I told him I play at The Australian.”
