Day of Destiny Awaits Australian Crowe

Chonburi, Thailand: Taking a two-stroke lead into the final round of the 13th Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship (AAC), Harrison Crowe is sanguine about what promises to be a day of destiny in his flourishing career.

Making light of blustery winds, the Australian, who turned 21 a fortnight ago, fired an accomplished bogey-free five-under-par 67 in round three at Amata Spring Country Club.

With a 54-hole aggregate of 13-under 203, Crowe heads the chase for victory in the region's premier amateur event which is rewarded with starting places in the 2023 Masters Tournament and Open Championship.

Hot on his heels on 11-under are Korean Song Min-hyuk (68) and China’s Jin Bo (71), the first and second round leader.

A further shot back in joint fourth are Japan’s Ryuta Suzuki and China’s Ding Wenyi, winner of the US Junior Amateur in July.

With Ratchanon ‘TK’ Chantananuwat dropping out of contention following a 76 that saw him fall to joint 19th on 211, Pongsapak Laopakdee is the leading Thai in sixth place on 208. He carded a 71 but was left to rue a double-bogey six at 16.

But the final-day focus is sure to centre around Crowe, who has talked about relinquishing his amateur status following this tournament.

However, if he were to become the third Australian winner of the AAC, after Antonio Murdaca in 2014 and Curtis Luck in 2016, the lure of teeing up at Augusta National and Royal Liverpool next year would leave him with a tough decision to make.

Asked about his plans to turn pro, Crowe, 43rd in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), said: “It will almost be when I get back home. But the focus is on tomorrow. I would love to delay that decision. I just have to go out there and play some good golf tomorrow and not get too fazed about what the rewards are.” 

His frame of mind could hardly be better. “I feel really good. Quite honestly the nerves today were not as high as yesterday. I felt really comfortable out there most of the day. 

“I’m really proud of myself. The way I handled myself out there, and to be 13‑under-par is pretty awesome,” said Crowe, winner of the Australian Master of the Amateurs as well as both the New South Wales Amateur and New South Wales Open championships this year.

Crowe cited an 18-foot par putt on 14 as a key moment today. “The last two rounds I have played well before making some mistakes coming in. It could have gone a similar way. The save on the 14th was crucial and very pleasing,” said Crowe, who is part of Golf Australia’s high-performance squad.

Jin, the 20-year-old Oklahoma State University junior and brother of 2015 champion Cheng Jin, made a bogey on 16 that denied him a chance to catch the leader, but remained upbeat.

“I think it was a good day. The conditions were harder. The tees were moved back and the pins were tucked in more and it was windier. To me, 71 is a good score, especially with all the pressure I had in the leader group. It’s tough to have that pressure but I definitely tried to keep that in control,” said Jin.

Korean junior Song recovered from a double-bogey on the par-five seventh to make an eagle-three on 11 before adding birdies at 16 and 17.

Ratchanon, 12th in the WAGR, struggled with his physical conditioning for the second straight day. The 15-year-old, who played with a sprained neck and back in the second round, pulled a muscle near his left hip trying to play a difficult high lob from a downhill lie on the 12th hole, and then suffered a nose bleed coming in.

*For full results, please visit www.aacgolf.com