Despite clear skies over Coffs Harbour today, days of heavy rain and wild winds have left the course at Coffs Harbour Golf Club waterlogged, forcing officials to reduce the North Coast Open Ford NSW Open Regional Qualifier to a single round.
Round One was scheduled to tee off at 11:45 am this morning, but after course inspections by officials from Golf NSW and the PGA, it was deemed unplayable and unfair to proceed.
“Despite several inspections over the past three days, the playing conditions have improved, but the course remains unplayable,” said Golf NSW’s Nicole Martin.
“Golf NSW, alongside the PGA and Coffs Harbour Golf Club, is working diligently to prepare the course for a 10:00 am shotgun start tomorrow. A final inspection will occur at 7:30 am to assess playability and finalise the tournament as an 18 hole event.”
More than 60 millimetres of rain and gusts of wind reaching up to 70 kilometres per hour hit the region in the lead up to the tournament.
With the revised format, players now face a one-round shootout for a $50,000 purse and three prized qualifying spots in the 2025 Ford NSW Open.
Live television coverage of the tournament, initially scheduled for tomorrow, has been cancelled. Instead, news updates will be issued throughout tomorrow’s round.
For players like Kayun Mudadana, the change in format alters the strategy, but not the goal.
“Yeah, it’s a bit unfortunate, all due to the weather, which hasn’t been good,” Mudadana said.
“But I guess tomorrow you just have to play aggressive and have one good round, and you might get a spot.”
It’s Mudadana’s first appearance in this year’s Regional Qualifying Series, having just returned from a two month stint in the UK, where he notched impressive results, including a third place finish at the Scottish Men’s Open.
“It was definitely good over there. There’s a lot of depth in all those fields,” he said.
“Played pretty solid and made every cut, pretty much. Came top 25 in every event, which is good.”
Looking ahead to tomorrow, Mudadana admits he’ll be going in blind.
“I’ve never played the course, so it’ll be a bit hard going in blind, especially just for a one-rounder. But I guess you just play aggressive and keep it in the fairway, and you’ll always be fine.”
The revised 18 hole format means one hot round could be all it takes for a player to punch their ticket to the 2025 Ford NSW Open, and for many, that opportunity still makes the trip worthwhile.
“It would be great,” Mudadana said.
“I played the NSW Open last year, so to play another one would be a really cool experience.”
