Aussie eyes Morobe Open

Sports

QUEENSLANDER Brett Rankin will be looking to improve on last year’s SP Brewery PNG Open second-place finish when a strong contingent of professionals tee off at Morobe’s Lae Golf Club on Thursday.
Rankin, 31, went down in a playoff to eventual PNG Open champion Cory Crawford, which is his best result so far on the ISPS Handa PGA Tour of Australasia.
He followed it up with a sixth-place finish at the Isuzu Queensland Open and finished inside the top 30 at the Australian PGA Championship.
Rankin was in contention at the Coca-Cola Queensland PGA Championship, finishing in the top five and also securing a top-25 finish at the ISPS Handa New Zealand Open.
Apart from Rankin, tournament coordinator Nicole James said last week that she was expecting a solid performance from Steven Jeffress, Michael Wright and Blake Proverbs in the four-day event of the Trukai Morobe Open.
Jeffress’ best result came in 2014 when he was crowned Fiji International’s inaugural winner.
Wright is hoping to repeat his 2009 Morobe Open triumph.
His best finish last year was second place at the Tahiti International and so far this year, is equal fifth in the Qantas Golf Club Gold Coast Challenge. Wright was held off two shots by Chris Woods who won at last year’s Morobe Open.