You don’t want to be not feeling uncomfortable. It’s always an uncomfortable feeling when you’re leading – you’ve got adrenaline and nerves – but that’s the feeling you want. “I was leading by one going into the last round and finished two ahead. “I put my head down and worked really hard for a few months at the start of summer and that win at the end of 2020 in New Zealand was confirmation that I was playing great and I’ve been playing great ever since,” said Anstiss, a Queenstown native who also has a base on the Gold Coast when in Australia. “I just finished and the boys told me that James shot 9-under… it’s nearly unbelievable,” added Windred, he and Anstiss both finishing tied for seventh at the 2019 Vic PGA at Cape Schanck.įor Anstiss it was the continuation of the good form that he first displayed in mid-December in winning the Christies Floorings Mount Open, his third Charles Tour win after travelling back and forth between New Zealand and the US in 2020. To do that on these final holes here… He eagled 15 and birdied 16 and they were playing straight into the wind today. “He had a double on 11 and went crazy after that. “Obviously when someone shoots 9-under you want to know what they’ve done and how they’ve finished,” said Wood. Novocastrian Blake Windred will join Anstiss in the final group after his 6-under 66 gave him a three-round total of 17-under par, Queensland’s Michael Sim (68) is in third a shot back followed by Chris Wood (66) at 15-under and Kiwi Pair Daniel Hillier (67), Michael Hendry (67) and New South Welshman Justin Warren (73) all at 14-under.Ī 15-foot birdie putt across the slope at the par-4 12th was the ideal response after his mishap at 11 but Anstiss didn’t stop there, making eagle at 15 and birdies at 14, 16, 17 and 18 to leave the rest of the field shaking their heads. That proved to be the case for most players but on the back of a double-bogey at the par-4 11th Anstiss clicked into an extra gear, playing the final seven holes in just 21 strokes with only nine putts to shoot 9-under 63 and lead the way at 18-under par.
Following the completion of the second round early Saturday morning, play moved from the Legends Course to the Open Course where the Peter Thomson behemoth was expected to rein in the low scores that dominated the opening two days.