You could watch a lot of golf and never see anything as incredible as Scott Barr’s run to the World Sand Greens Championship today.
Capped by a spectacular 40m hole-out for birdie on the final hole at Binalong, the West Australian scythed through the field with a course-record score of 10-under-par 60 to win by three shots at an extraordinary total of 16 under through the 36-hole event.
At 54 – twice the age of many of his rivals – Barr has had a successful global career full of achievements.
Which makes it so implausible that today, on a blustery and chilly afternoon, the Canberra-raised veteran enjoyed so many firsts.
It was Barr’s first:
- win on the PGA Tour of Australasia
- time to have played a 36-hole tournament without a bogey
- time to card a 60
- time, unofficially, to have had just 18 putts in a round
- tournament round in which he holed out from off the green three times
The first of those chip-ins was relatively routine from just over the par-4 fifth green.
The second would usually have been the storybook moment, playing an immaculate lobbed shot on the par-3 14th after his ball bounded well right of the normally problematic green.
But it was left as an “also-ran” by the shot that sealed the trophy.
Barr had blistered a drive up the 18th fairway, but inexplicably lost his range finder.
Momentarily flustered, he approximated his remaining distance, but effectively “flubbed” his second just shy of 40m from the pin.
“Not now, Scotty!” he bemoaned after a moment that might have derailed a lesser professional.
Now faced with the very real prospect of a last-minute stumble and still without his range finder, Barr paced out the uphill shot and no sooner had he settled back over his 38m pitch that it flew to the front of the green, bounced, checked and rolled in to the cup at almost perfect holing speed.
The generous Binalong crowd erupted.
Barr threw his hands in the air in disbelief.
He was the world champion in one magical moment.
“I can’t believe that, that’s genuinely amazing,” Barr beamed.
“I knew I’d been going OK, but I was just determined to keep pushing and really, I only knew that I wanted to play an entire event without a bogey, so I had to do something coming up that hill.
“I didn’t know I (had shot) 60, I figured I must have been going OK when the cameras came around, but really, I didn’t imagine that sort of finish.
“How could you?”
How, indeed.
Before the weekend, the Binalong course record had been Andrew Kelly’s alone at 63.
On Saturday, four players went through that mark to reach 62 only to watch rookie pro George Giblett give them windburn with a late 61.
But 60 on a day when the wind was whipping across the NSW Southern Tablelands, deserves to stand as the pinnacle for years to come.
On any other day, the 13-under totals of Nathan Barbieri and fellow New South Welshman Matt Stieger may well have been enough.
In fact, the next six players after that also matched or bettered last year’s winning 11-under total.
“Yeah, that’s a good day to remember,” Barr said with great understatement.
“It’s one for the Legends Tour to get one up on the young fellas,” he joked.
The low amateur for the weekend was young Victorian Jesper Wallace, who impressed greatly with a pair of 66s to finish at eight under.
And remarkably, to emphasise the extraordinary golf witnessed at Binalong, the top 50 (and ties) professionals needed a four-under total to earn a cheque.
The final round can be viewed on demand at Kayo Sport.
