Jason

Norris

The 44-year-old has been a pro for 21 years and whilst there have been victories on his home tour and the odd bright spot on the OneAsia circuit, this victory came right out of the blue for the World No. 1238. Given the background his final day performance was extraordinary. One shot behind Wade Ormsby at the start of play he caught and passed him with six front nine birdies at 1, 3, 4, 7, 8 and 9. There was a bogey in there at 5 and he’d add two more at 10 and 15, but a couple of back nine par breakers at 13 and 17 settled the nerves. His fellow 54-hole contenders couldn’t live with the pace. Jazz Janewattanond and David McKenzie flew home to join James Marchesani in a tie for second on 10-under. “I felt like a champion,” said Norris. “I was in a good spot.”

At 6-under 138 he’s now just three swings behind halfway leader Matt Wallace. Norris, who won last year’s Fiji International, could only manage a 74 on day one at Topwin G&CC but knocked ten shots off that today. On his front nine, he sprinkled red numbers at 2, 4, 5 and 8 before really stepping on the gas with five birdies in six holes from the 11th. A slightly disappointing 5-5 finish meant he gave one back but that’s still a serious move from the Aussie and he’ll enter the weekend with his chances rejuvenated. The 64 is his lowest 18 in 35 European Tour starts.

On a bunched live leaderboard, that makes him one of seven players sharing top spot. Playing in the third group out from the 1st tee this morning, Norris overcame the chilly conditions in Madrid with five red numbers and 13 pars. He set the tone with an opening circle and added another birdie at Centro Nacional de Golf’s other front-nine par 5, the fifth. The Aussie recorded seven pars from there before sprinkling three more circles (13, 15 and 18) in his final five holes. Since his Fiji win, the 45-year-old from Melbourne has missed nine of 14 cuts, including five of his last six, so this is a welcome return to form.

The Aussie, who won his tour card with an out of the blue win in the Fiji International last season, is just 4-for-13 with a best of T27 in the China Open. One key problem is that he has struggled to hit fairways and greens (he languishes outside the top 150 in the rankings of both). He’s also struggling to get off to a decent start: in six of his last nine starts he had been outside the top 90 after 18 holes. In China he responded with a second lap 64, but mostly he’s found the task of making the weekend beyond him.