NZ Open golf: Kiwi James Hydes won’t let occasion faze him despite rising to contention

James Hydes isn't letting the NZ Open occasion get the best of him. Photo / Photosport

Before today, you could be forgiven for not having heard of James Hydes - from this point onwards you’d be well-served to keep an eye on him.

Playing in just his second New Zealand Open, his first appearance at Millbrook was his first tournament as a professional, the World No 4172 is trying to use the occasion to his advantage - rather than shying away from it.

“I’m trying my best to actually just look around and take it all in. I think that works best for me when I realise what I’m doing is actually pretty cool, obviously, it’s a bit nerve-wracking but when you hit a good shot it’s the best feeling in the world.”

He fought fire with fire in the Queenstown heat on day three, besting the scorching conditions to card a seven-under par 64 to leap into contention.

Having made the cut on the number by sitting four-under after his second round, Hydes had a nervous wait to see whether he would be in the weekend field, but he didn’t show any of those nerves as he collected eight birdies on his way to 11-under for the tournament.

“It was ultra nerve-wracking coming in yesterday, I was real stoked just to make the cut really, it was a long wait over dinner just to see if I was going to make it and I felt like today I could just kind of free it up a bit and climb that leaderboard as much as I can.”

“I struggled on the first nine of Coronet yesterday, I found it quite tough, but then yesterday I made a few birdies coming in so I just tried to stay patient over that front nine and knew there were some chances coming in.”

James Hydes isn't letting the NZ Open occasion get the best of him. Photo / Photosport

That has been a regular theme of the 103rd New Zealand Open, with players saying that the Coronet course at Millbrook is one that requires patience to get through the front nine with opportunities to score on the turn for home.

A three-birdie stretch for Hydes after sitting one-over for the day kickstarted the 24-year-old’s round and he said knowing he’d performed on some of the tougher holes gave him confidence going into the back nine.

“I didn’t really get off to a hot start, I was one over through three or four holes then I made three birdies in a row I think and that kind of kicked me off. I made three birdies on reasonably hard holes so I knew I had some chances coming in and I just took advantage of that.

“I felt really good entering the week I was really happy with my game, where it was at. Just stoked to be here really.

“I’m just going to full send it. Try hit the middle of the greens, keep the putter rolling and just enjoy it.”

103rd New Zealand Open at Millbrook Resort - Follow all the NZ Open action here.