Border golfer Zach Murray will be looking to seal another spot in the Australian Open when the NSW title starts on Thursday.
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A win will earn automatic entry into the country’s biggest event the following week.
If he misses, Australian Open qualifying starts in Sydney next Monday, with 10 players winning through.
“My whole goal for the next two weeks is the Australian Open,” he said.
“I know I can win (the NSW Open), you’ve got to believe you can win it, there’s no point in coming up here.”
The 20-year old amateur posted his best professional finish when he tied for ninth in last month’s Western Australian Open.
“I’ve just got to stay patient and I know I can match it against any field in Australia,” he said.
“Preparation is the key, to make sure I’m comfortable when I step on the tee on the first day.”
Murray’s top 10 finish guaranteed a start in the Queensland Open, but it also exposed the life of a top-class player with the ‘red-eye’ flight back from Perth to Melbourne, followed by a drive home and another flight to Brisbane in a 24-hour stretch.
It’s not surprising then he missed the Queensland cut by two shots.
The $400,000 NSW Open will be held at Sydney’s Twin Cities Golf and Country Club.
“I’ve got to use my length to advantage and if it pays off, it pays off and if it doesn’t, I’m not going to second guess myself and say I should have done this and I should have done that,” Murray said.