Teeing off in the morning wave for the first round at New Plymouth Golf Club, Barrett was greeted by near-perfect conditions, but for a double-bogey on the difficult par-3 9th — his 18th hole of the day — would have been confident of making a professional cut.
As it happened, he finished with a 4-over 76 and arrived for his afternoon second-round tee time to gusting winds and rain, with only two players in the morning wave having carded under-par rounds.
Barrett’s chances of making the cut were soon dashed on the front nine, but he remained in high spirits after his round and complimented the field on handling the conditions.
“Yesterday I had four over, two doubles, and felt like I had it pretty good… today I made quad bogey on two, and then mentally going into a bit of a spiral. So strong fields and yeah, golf beat me today.
Jordie Barrett in action against the Wallabies during a Bledisloe Cup clash. PHOTO: Getty Images.
“It’s cool to be playing off the back tees and playing it in these tournament conditions like all the pros.”
No stranger to playing in front of spectators or with cameras rolling, Barrett said the change in dynamic from filming his own content for YouTube to the pressure of competition play was a challenge.
“Playing with your mates or even when I film my own stuff for YouTube, you’re a lot more relaxed… [in a professional event] the ball’s got to go in the cup, and there’s a bit more on the line. So yeah, it’s very challenging.”
He hopes to transfer some of his experience on the Summerset Charles Tour to his rugby as the Hurricanes look to push on into the Super Rugby Pacific finals.
“It’s why I try and play these events. Hopefully it can sort of improve my rugby game… gives you a good understanding of what golf’s really like.”
As for whether we’ll see the name Jordie Barrett on a Summerset Charles Tour tee sheet in the future, he said he hoped it wouldn’t be his final appearance on tour.
“Hopefully, if I can get my name back in here.”
The Summerset Charles Tour’s UNLIMIT Taranaki Open continues, with the 36-hole cut finalised and Mark Brown’s 2-under 70 seeing him join Jake Meenhorst on 5-under for the joint lead.
© Golf Australia. All rights reserved.