THE Vic Open tees off today (Thursday, February 10), and the pros will have been studying the two courses at 13th Beach Golf Links closely.<\/p>\n
Marcus Fraser, a long-time player on the PGA European Tour and a top-three finisher at the Vic Open two years ago, said the Beach and Creek courses were \u201cnot overly long\u201d but would pose a considerable challenge to both the men\u2019s and women\u2019s fields.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn spots, it\u2019s quite generous, but if you\u2019ve got the wrong angle to a lot of those greens, you can be in quite a bit of strife.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of strategy involved relative to different pin positions, especially if the wind blows – like it did the last time I was down there – it completely changes the entire golf course, really.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo I think a lot of homework\u2019s going to be done before you hit off on the way the course is playing, the weather, and the course setup.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe field is pretty strong, there\u2019s a lot of mainly Australian players – because of the COVID issues, we\u2019re not getting as many international players – but it will be very strong from an Australian point of view, so it\u2019s pretty much a level playing field once you start there Thursday morning.\u201d<\/p>\n
Designed by Tony Cashmore, the Beach course at 13th Beach is consistently ranked in the top 20 best courses in Australia and is a true links style course, offering one of the best collections of par 3s in Australia.<\/p>\n
The Creek course is a parkland layout and is co-designed by golfing great Sir Nick Faldo (a six-time Majors winner) and Tony Cashmore.<\/p>\n
Today and on Friday, the men and women will play both courses in alternating groups.<\/p>\n
On Saturday and Sunday, all players will be on the Beach course only.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe (courses) have been around for a long time now, nearly 25 years, and both courses are fantastic and very enjoyable to play,\u201d Fraser said.<\/p>\n
He has played in the Vic Open several times.<\/p>\n
\u201cI grew up in New South Wales but I\u2019ve lived in Melbourne for nearly 25 years now so I\u2019d probably class myself as more of a Victorian than a New South Welshman, and to play in the Vic Open, the state championship, is always a big thrill, that\u2019s for sure,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Fraser\u2019s best result is a tie for third at the 2020 Vic Open, finishing at 14 under alongside Frenchman Robin Sciot-Siegrist and five strokes behind winner Min Woo Lee, and said coming towards the 18th green with a packed gallery was a great experience.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been lucky enough to do that quite a bit over my career, having played in Europe for a long time and being one of the older players and probably more experienced, but any time you get to do that, especially in front of a home crowd, adds a little bit extra to it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI did put in a bit of work leading into that Vic Open, and had probably targeted that one to play well, so it was definitely nice to go and play well.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
THE Vic Open tees off today (Thursday, February 10), and the pros will have been studying the two courses at 13th Beach Golf Links closely. Marcus Fraser, a long-time player on the PGA European Tour and a top-three finisher at the Vic Open two years ago, said the Beach and Creek courses were \u201cnot overly […]<\/p>\n