By Tony WebeckEmerging superstar Grace Kim is on course to extend the dominance of women in this year’s Webex Players Series after establishing a three-shot lead through two rounds of TPS Sydney.
Backing up from her brilliant seven-under par round in blustery conditions on Thursday, Kim
returned on Friday morning with the Bonnie Doon Golf Club layout at her mercy and unleashed a
second round of 64.
Her 36-hole total of 14-under par has given her a three-shot buffer heading into Saturday’s third
round, Daniel Gale (67), Brendan Jones (67) and amateur Jeffrey Guan (65) her nearest challengers
at 11-under par.

There is a further two-shot gap to Epson Tour player Robyn Choi (66), Gippsland Super 6 champion
Tom Power Horan (66) and Queensland PGA winner Aaron Wilkin (68) but there is little doubt who
the player to beat is over the final two days.

It was a somewhat muted start for Kim who parred her first three holes but she soon clicked into
gear.
As tournament host Braith Anasta texted updates through to Kim’s Pro-Am playing partner, Sydney
Roosters captain James Tedesco, the 22-year-old set about separating herself from the field.
Birdies at 13, 14 and 16 saw her make the turn in two-under before she unleashed a stunning display of precision golf over the final nine holes.
The only time she struck trouble Kim holed a bunker shot for birdie at the par-3 sixth, another of her
Pro-Am partners in Sydney Sixers star Dan Christian joining the gallery to watch her finish with
birdies at five, six, eight and nine.

As the rest of the field endeavours to reel her in, Kim is focused solely on going two more rounds in
her head-to-head battle with the golf course.
“Out here, playing with the guys, you can’t be focusing on other people’s scorecards. Every day
anyone could have 10-under and that’s when the tables turn,” said Kim, who is playing her final
event on home soil before beginning her LPGA Tour career.
“Mentally that could bring you down but for me, the biggest key for this week is to dial in my own
game and try to have a one-on-one with the course.
“It doesn’t matter how the others go, just making sure I try to beat the course every time.”

One of Kim’s closest threats has history of going head-to-head with her and coming out on top.
Gale won the Western Open in Dubbo when Kim made her professional debut in November 2021.
He even snared some side cash in a friendly wager but knows he and the rest of the chasing pack
have their work cut out in reining her in.
“She just does everything well,” Gale effused.
“She doesn’t miss a fairway and is so dialled in with all her clubs.
“Just doesn’t make too many mistakes. If you’re in the fairway all day it’s pretty hard to make
mistakes.”

Guan is another predicted for a big future when he eventually joins the pro ranks but for now is
embracing the opportunity to once again feature in one of the final groups on the ISPS HANDA PGA
Tour of Australasia.
Guan was fourth at the WA Open in October and made birdie at three of his final four holes on
Friday to work his way up toward the top of the leaderboard.
“Coming down the stretch, four was playing straight back into and then all those holes coming in
with that wind picking up I really just wanted to hit centre green and two-putt and walk home with
four pars coming in,” Guan said of his late flurry.
“I got a bit lucky, hit a couple of good shots coming in and made a couple of putts.

“I’m looking forward to it. It’s always been a good experience. Last time I did it was at WA Open with
Deyen Lawson and it was a really good experience for me and looking forward to tomorrow.”
Coffs Harbour-based Andrew Campbell delivered the highlight of Round 2 with a hole-in-one at the
par-3 15th, hitting gap wedge from 117 metres.

WA Open champion Deyen Lawson also set the course alight, raising the possibility of matching the
world record that Andrew Martin equalled in winning at Bonnie Doon two years ago.
Lawson made eagle at five, eight and nine and almost holed out at the par-4 10th, falling one short
of the record of four eagles in a single round.

A total of 61 players finished inside the cut-line of three-under par and they will be joined for the
final two rounds by competitors in the Junior Players Series and the Players Series Sydney-All
Abilities tournament.
The final two rounds will be broadcast live on Fox Sports and Kayo Sports from 2.30pm on Saturday
and 12.30pm Sunday AEDT.