A putter tweak is paying dividends for Canberra native Josh Armstrong, who has poured in 15 birdies across two rounds to lead the PNG Open by one stroke at the halfway point.
A return to sunny conditions provided perfect scoring conditions at Royal Port Moresby Golf Club on Friday and Armstrong took advantage as he shot an eight-under 64 to reach nine under and lead by a shot from Queensland pair Brett Rankin (66) and Louis Dobbelaar (69).
Defending champion Cory Crawford has positioned himself well for a tilt at a third PNG Open title, shooting a 69 to be outright fourth, just two shots off the lead.
Armstrong made birdie on all four of the par 3s, a feat only matched twice before in the previous 14,234 rounds on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia.
The 27-year-old cruised through the first few holes before cashing in four times in five holes, then closing with two more birdies on his final three holes.
“I’ve been doing a lot of work on ball-striking and you have to keep it in play around here,” said Armstrong, who has a career 14 top-10 finishes on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia but is still chasing that elusive first win.
But an unusual putter tweak may be the secret to his success on Royal Port Moresby’s "strong leaf'’ greens.
“I put five degrees of loft on my putter instead of the usual three," he said. “I thought yesterday it backfired on me, but sort of paid dividends today. That may be a little key.
“I found that you almost need it to ‘skip’ off the putter rather than roll straight away.''
Two of Papua New Guinea’s own will be in weekend action at their national open, with Gideon Tikili and Cassie Koma sneaking inside the cut line.
Two shots off the lead after the first round, Tikili shot a 76 to be in a tie for 36th, with Koma fighting back with birdies at each of his final two holes to make the cut on the number.
Crawford, also the 2017 champion, is well placed to become the first player to successfully defend a title on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia since Phoenix Campbell won consecutive Queensland PGA championships in 2023 and 2024.
Dobbelaar did little wrong in backing up his opening 67, making bogeys on holes 17 and six to go with birdies at 10, 13, three, five and nine.
Recently-turned 40-year-old Rankin bogeyed the par-5 first, but made five birdies and an eagle over his next nine holes as he chases a second Tour win to go with his 2019 NT PGA victory.
A total of 54 players made the cut in the men's event.
Saturday will also see the opening round of the PNG Women’s Open, where five local players will join nine members of the WPGA Tour of Australasia, including defending champion Amelia Mehmet-Grohn.
