New Zealand Open

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Travis got back on the right side of the Cut in the NZ$1.25m New Zealand Open.  He carded 4 under and 1 under in the first two rounds of the tournament to be Tied 19. There are a number of players still to finish.  The cut line could be around 2 under.After missing cuts at the Vic Open MC+4 and Queensland PGA MC+1 Trav was obviously keen to reset.  "My putting had definitely let me down in those events so that has been my focus in the lead up."The event is in the style of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am with each professional partnered with an Amateur.  Long time family friend and supporter Matt Holloway is partnering Travis.

Queensland Open

After a few weeks off from tournament golf Trav made a good start in kicking off a potentially four week stint on the Australasian Tour.He shot even par in the first two rounds of the Isuzu Queensland Open to make the cut.  He is tied 35 well inside the +3 cut mark.  53 professionals will contest the week end."Playing really well out there and giving myself lots of opportunities. I'm yet to get on a hot streak with the putter though!  Greens are a bit grainy and maybe that's why the scores aren't as low."The Isuzu Queensland Open is a $110k event held at Brisbane Golf Club.  Trav is familiar with the course having led the NSW amateur team to victory there  two years ago in the interstate series.Tied on 7 under for the lead are Adam Blyth, Jordan Zunic and amateur Zach Murray. 

No Go at Web.Com

Trav fell a bit short in his first attempt at getting a tour card in the US."Disappointed; I guess that's the word that sums it up!" "Not much else to say really"."Got a busy schedule between now and the end of the year in Asia and Australia so gotta refocus on that"."Might play some more Monday qualifiers in the US next year. I think that could help my prep."For the record Trav shot a one over par 73 in the 4th round to finish T40th.

3rd Round Web.Com

Finally scored in red figures in the third round.  A one under par 71 was sufficient to climb to T36. He is 2 over for this Qualifying Stage."Still a lot of work to do but thankfully kept the doubles off the card!"To advance to second stage Trav needs to get to 3 under or maybe 2 under.  So at 2 over par its within reach!

Web.Com Q School

Trav finished even par for the day in the second round of Q School. He stands 3 over for this qualifying stage with two rounds remaining.Starting on the 10th tee Trav shot two under on the first nine.  A double on the 6th (his 15th) on the way home messed his score card up a bit.He needs maybe to get to 3 under to advance.Currently he is 57th with top 22 and ties advancing.Here is the link to the Q School Site for followers who are keen to know more.  

Not the best start

Trav carded a 3 over par 75 in the first round of Web.Com Q School at Woodlands CC.Two holes got him the 9th and the 18th where he had a double and a triple.  There are 70 players in the field and currently he is 62 with top 22 and ties to advance.  The cut  is after the completion of 4 rounds and is projected at 2 under."Course punished me today. Two holes was all it was. I’ll be fine I played some real good golf out there. Not the best start - good finish just like asian q school!!" 

Kick off at Web.Com Q School

All Q Schools are long and arduous.  Web.com Q school  is the main pathway to get a tour card on the secondary tour in the USA and ultimately graduate to the "top table" The US PGA Tour.Travis starts this journey Tuesday 9th October at 8.20am at Woodlands Country Club Player Course just outside Houston.  Houston is 16 hours behind AEDT.The course is a monster 6,500 metres par 72.  For golfers reading this post, a slope rating of 151!This is the first stage of tour school with second and final stages ahead if he succeeds.  Each stage is 4 stroke rounds with no cut.  78 players will contest the first stage at Woodlands.  There are 11 other venues for first stage each with a similar sized field."Feeling good about this week. Practiced well and although I haven't played this course before I have played other courses at Woodlands when I have been on camp with Golf Australia. That has to help a bit.  Good that I got my first choice of venue."

Edges up leaderboard after final round

A final round 2 over par, to finish the tournament at 9 over par, was sufficient to gain 5 spots and finish T42.Just 12 players finished the Mercuries Masters in red figures.Travis moves on to the USA next week to prepare for Web.Com Qualifying School at The Woodlands Players Course in Texas.  Q School starts on Friday October 9th.He has had a good run of tournament successes leading up to tour school having made the cut in his last eight events.

Tough day Tough Course

Travis is battling away at the Mercuries Taiwan Masters.  He carded a +3 in the third round to be well down the field at T47.  He had 4 bogeys and a birdie.  So no disasters but not much luck either.The $850,000 tournament is being held at Taiwan Golf and Country Club, the oldest club in Taiwan.  The club is celebrating it's 100th year.

Making Cuts

An even par second round enabled Trav to make the weekend on the number of +4 . He is tied T47th.I got absolutely sodden wet today !  But all good I’m smiling !  

The beginning of the journey

Travis Smyth is an Australian professional golfer from Flinders a town on the south coast of NSW about 100Km south of Sydney.

He was born on 29th December 1994. Parents are Phil and Debbie and elder sister Casey. 

You might say he fell into a golfing career by accident. More accurately he sustained a neck injury whilst playing football at age 12 for his school, Corpus Christi Catholic High School. As he recovered a friend invited him to have a go at golf and he made a stunning debut.  That was the beginning. 

“After that year was over, I began to love golf and decided to not play football anymore. My days then were all golf.” 

He initially joined Port Kembla GC where Shaun O’Toole was his first golf coach.

“Shaun got me to a single figure handicap within 24 months and I first broke par when I was 15. When Shaun moved to Kiama Golf Club in 2015 as Head Professional I followed him.” 

“Kiama Golf Club really helped me out a lot with fundraising efforts to pay for travel and entries. Also local business chipped in, led by John and Kelley Holloway at A Plus plastics and Anytime Fitness.”

His first major progression in golf was an invitation to join the High Performance Program at Golf NSW along with the opportunity to join St Michael’s Golf Club. At St Mick’s, he began his coaching relationship with Head Teaching Professional John Serhan. 

Mercuries Taiwan Masters

Yeah! lots of clouds on this image! Trav had a rain interrupted practice round because of the weather. The $850,000 Mercuries Taiwan Masters  was his 11th Asian Tour event.  That is excluding tournaments co-sanctioned by the Aussie PGA.He shot +4 in the first round to be tied 84th  and right on the likely cut line, which is likely to be +3 or +4.  The leader,  Frenchman Lionel Weber, is at 4 under the card. Maybe he is inspired by the Ryder Cup at Golf National!"Didn't play bad at all! Course was a bit difficult to work out.  Some work to do tomorrow but that's how it is!"