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.
