Endicott, a Sydney resident who ended 2023 with a win at the hotly contested Florida PGA Tour Q School, shot a four-under 68 at Royal Golf Club, shared by Sweden’s Jesper Svensson, Switzerland’s Joel Gerbach and South He was within two strokes of the halfway lead. African Dylan Frittelli.
There was hardly a dull moment in the 27-year-old’s round on a stormy day on the European Tour, with Endicott making nine birdies, including three bogeys and one double bogey.
This double came just on the short second hole when Endicott found the desert on his drive, went into the rough on the next hole, and spent three more holes going down.
He seemed inspired rather than discouraged, hitting his next 103-yard approach on the par-5 third to within five inches of the hole.
Five more birdies over the next seven holes propelled him up the leaderboard, but two bogeys over the next three holes halted his dramatic progress.
Once again, he quickly recovered, holding an 11-foot birdie putt and then making an even better putt from 22 feet to make up for the loss.
A stunning 100-yard approach from the rough to 4 feet on No. 17 was the final dramatic performance of the day.
Still, Endicott fell short of Swede Svensson, who had the worst round of the day with a 7-under 65, starting six shots behind and leading the way.
“It was tough outside,” Svensson said of the high winds.
“I decided from the beginning that I was going to play pretty conservatively, and I was playing with big goals in mind.In the first part of the round, I felt like every time I held the putter there was a chance for it to go in, so it was very I’m glad.”
Gilbach shot a 2-under 70, and Frittelli made a final birdie for a 4-under 68. Tom Vaillan, who led France on the night, fell back to a five-way tie for fifth place with Endicott, South Africa’s Ocky Streidham, Frenchman Julien Gerrier and Wales’ Jamie. Donaldson.
This group was one stroke behind Spain’s Alejandro Del Rey, who shot a 2-under 70, and one stroke behind the leading trio.
The other Australians competing weren’t as good, with David Micheluzzi’s 74 points and Jason Scribner’s 73 points tied for 58th place, which was on par with the competition.