Third-year PGA trainee Ben Stowe shot a three-under round of 69 to take the lead on day one of the National Futures Championship at the Ballarat Golf Club.
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Stowe battled the gusty conditions to lead the field of 76 trainee professionals by one stroke heading into round two on Wednesday.
He is one shot clear of Frazer Droop, who fired a round of 70.
This is Stowe’s second appearance at the world’s richest PGA trainee event after missing last year’s tournament due to injury.
“I’m very happy. I didn’t really do too much wrong apart from a couple of loose shots at the start, but my short game saved me all the way through,” Stowe, who is in the final year of his traineeship at Royal Sydney Golf Club, said.
“You can say it after every round, but I did leave a lot of putts out there. But the short game really saved me, I made some really good up and downs.”
