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By Michael Davis
Smart outdated heads nodded knowingly when younger Victorian golfer, Jasper Stubbs, received a ticket to The Masters in Augusta, Georgia and to the 152nd Open Championship with a come from behind victory within the Asia-Pacific Beginner at Royal Melbourne.
This child was famend for his work ethic on and off the golf course, and that included not solely working within the fitness center but additionally in in his father’s bin enterprise throughout COVID.
And outdated timers additionally preferred the truth that younger Jasper was a fighter; there have been others in elite applications across the nation blessed with extra brilliance, however none may match his never-say-die angle and can to hold in in opposition to the percentages, with all these qualities on show in spades for the good-sized gallery for the ultimate spherical of the championship.
Stubbs, 21, who performs out of Peninsula Kingswood Nation Membership, accomplished his victory on the second playoff gap late on the Sunday of the match with a tap-in putt for par at RM’s powerful 18th.
“This can be a dream come true. I can’t consider it,” Stubbs stated.
Stubbs had began the day effectively off the tempo however a closing 69, together with a again 9 of 33, vaulted him right into a three-way play-off in opposition to two excellent Chinese language gamers in Wenyi Ding and Sampson Zheng.
The ultimate putt was a formality, but it surely prompted enormous celebrations along with his Golf Australia teammates spraying him with champagne.
Two-over for the ultimate spherical by way of six holes, at that time Stubbs was seven photographs behind Zheng, a four-shot chief by way of 54 holes who signed for a final day 75 that may finally price him the championship.
Transferring from Bairnsdale in Gippsland with the household when he was 12, to get himself nearer to the motion, Stubbs received the 2022 New Zealand Beginner, his largest victory to that time, however in some methods was overshadowed by others, together with his sister Piper, a Royal Melbourne membership champion now on a golf scholarship in America who was additionally within the Golf Australia applications.
Stubbs lives close by in Highett, has performed Royal Melbourne lots and confessed he benefited from his intimate native data.
“I’ve quite a lot of mates who’re members right here,” he stated. “I’ve obtained one member I’ve been taking part in with right here since I used to be 14 or 15, so the perfect a part of six or seven years. My sister, as effectively, is the ladies’s membership champ right here. So, I get out right here lots. I knew I had technique for the week, and yeah, it simply all got here collectively as effectively.
“I assumed they (his wildly cheering team-mates) have been going to get me within the bunker (in the course of the play-off) for some time there. They stored pushing me, my ft weren’t on the bottom for lots of it. I used to be attempting to inform them to cease as a result of we have been getting near that bunker (on the 18th). However I actually loved that and I actually thank the lads for doing that.”
The winner praised his caddie, veteran bagman Simon Clarke, for planting the psychological seed on the primary gap of the match, with Stubbs having the honour of taking the sector away within the first spherical.
“He (Clarke) stated that it could be fairly superior to have the primary shot and the final putt (for victory) on Sunday,” Stubbs stated.
Stubbs plans to play a number of apply rounds at Augusta Nationwide early subsequent yr after his official gilt-edged invitation to the match arrives in his letter field.
Come subsequent April, Stubbs will likely be teeing it up alongside compatriots Cameron Smith, Adam Scott and Jason Day at The Masters, however solely after working along with his father, Peter, and the household’s skip bin firm to make ends meet.
“I’ve executed loads of work with my outdated man since I completed highschool in 2019,” Stubbs stated. “I labored all by way of COVID when there wasn’t a lot golf taking place.
“Each time I’m residence and have an opportunity to earn a bit of cash, I’ve obtained to make it up someplace. It’s fairly straightforward having your dad as your boss.
“And all credit score to my mother and father. I wouldn’t have the ability to play golf with out them.”
Dad Peter and mum Fiona, a pharmacist, moved from their Gippsland residence virtually a decade in the past to permit Jasper to attend college in Melbourne and pursue his {golfing} goals.
Along with taking part in The Masters, Stubbs additionally receives an exemption into The Open Championship, to be performed at Royal Troon in 2024.
Earlier than subsequent yr’s thrilling schedule kicks in, his ft barely touched the bottom for the reason that Royal Melbourne victory in what was a whirlwind interval stuffed with interviews, celebrations, telephone calls.
Stubbs then had some golf to play nearer to residence, flying straight to Auckland the day after his win to defend his New Zealand newbie title.
He was ultimately crushed within the spherical of 16 in New Zealand after a robust efficiency within the strokeplay qualifying, earlier than it was again to Victoria after receiving a particular invitation to play as an newbie within the Tremendous Sixes Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia occasion at Warragul east of Melbourne.
“My recreation nonetheless feels in fairly fine condition, and I feel I’m just a little extra rested for this week than I used to be for New Zealand,” he stated earlier than the PGA occasion.
Stubbs would qualify within the prime 24 on the Tremendous Sixes, beat Maverick Antcliff in spherical one of many matchplay part, earlier than bowing out in a high quality six-hole second spherical contest in opposition to Jake McLeod.
Stubbs turned the fourth Australian winner of the Asia Pacific Championship, following on from Antonio Murdaca who received at Royal Melbourne in 2014, Curtis Luck in South Korea in 2016 and Harrison Crowe final yr in Thailand.
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