Jordan Doull fired one of only two bogey-free rounds at the South West Rocks Ford NSW Open Regional Qualifier, with the West Australian’s nine-under 63 giving him a one-shot lead over young Sydneysider Adam Coull.
Headed for a haircut and beard trim after Round 1 to ensure partner and fellow golf professional Kathryn Norris would in fact welcome him home after two weeks away, Doull paid tribute to a reliable strategy off the tee around the tree-lined layout.
“I used 2-iron a lot today. Keep it in play. Make it simple,” Doull, who has finished inside the top-15 of all three previous Regional Qualifiers on the north coast of New South Wales, said.
“I’ve been trending pretty good. Just been trying to get something going with the putter. Found something last week in the first round and it’s still going… so that’s a good thing.
“The greens are so good out here that you can kind of make them from anywhere, which is nice.”
Twice a winner on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia, Doull was relaxed having recorded five birdies on the front nine, including at the eighth and ninth, before he made it a hat-trick at the 10th as he began the back nine.
Doull birdied the 14th before finishing his day with two more at 16 and 17, his last two holes of the day, before his appointment with a local barber.
“I’m going to go get my hair done and get my beard trimmed up because I look like a caveman. And then I’ve got a block of chocolate waiting for me as well at home, so that’ll be devoured,” Doull said of his plans for Thursday evening.
Clearly comfortable at the top of the leaderboard, and no doubt energised by the entirety of a “Marvellous Creations, the popping candy one” bar come Friday’s second and final round, Doull intends to measure his aggressiveness.
“I don’t feel like I’ve been playing too aggressive, however, the ball’s been going pretty close to the hole, so I’ll just keep doing that, try to make some putts,” Doull said.
Chasing a first win early in his professional career, Coull was in the last group of the final round at the 2025 Ford NSW Open and will no doubt be better for an experience that delivered a tie for sixth when he plays alongside Doull, Darcy Brereton (-6) and Aiden Didone (6) on Friday.
The member of The Lakes Golf Club managing a round of 8-under despite a double bogey on the card at the par-4 13th.
“I played well today. Had both aspects of the game, short game and long game, going good today,” Coull said.
“Just on the 13th hole, had a bit of tree trouble. Took me a couple to get out of the trees, but apart from that, I was in play most of the day.”
Similarly to Doull, the 25-year-old’s play at South West Rocks was powered by an improvement on the greens that he hopes to mix with an ongoing aggressive mindset during the final round where the trend of low scoring is expected to continue.
“I’ve been hitting it pretty good as of lately, and then I’ve been struggling with the putter a bit,” Coull said.
“Today, obviously, got a few putts to go in, which I just kept bouncing off, which was nice to see.
“I’ll stay aggressive and try to keep the same game plan, because obviously a lot of good players, so there’ll be some low scores, I’d imagine.”
Also shooting low scores on Thursday were Didone, who signed for a six-under 66 after securing his spot at The Vintage earlier this week at Coffs Harbour and his fellow Royal Melbourne member, Darcy Brereton, who joined Doull in the bogey-free club with his 66.
Phoenix Campbell making it a trio of Victorians at six-under, with six players tied for sixth at five-under, including NSW Open winners Jake McLeod and Aaron Townsend.
Matias Sanchez getting in on the Royal Melbourne member success on day one, with the PGA Tour of Australasia winner making a hole-in-one at the par-3 fourth in his round of four-under.
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