In form Fuller prepares for Upper Hunter Open
BY ALEX TIGANI
There was a sigh of relief when Joshua Fuller secured the 2022 Hunter River District Championship at Kurri Kurri this month.
The 20-year-old had already made a name for himself last year when winning the Concord Cup and the Tasmanian Open.
Yet this victory was almost equally significant after many close finishes in his home region.
“I’ve had a tough time trying to win one of these, even a club championship around the area after placing second so many times so to have a win is good,” Fuller told The Hunter River Times.
“There are a lot of really good names on that trophy from Gary Mears to Kurt Barnes, so it is nice to have my name up there with those guys.”
Fuller now hopes to prevail at this month’s Upper Hunter Open, the third instalment of the NSW Regional Open series to be held from September 26-28.
Here the top three placegetters (professional or amateur) at each tournament will secure a start in the 2023 Play Today NSW Open in March 2023.
His recent tour of the United States saw him polish his skills when competing in the Dogwood Invitational, Rice Planters Amateur, Trans-Mississippi Amateur and Porter Cup.
And don’t take his knowledge of the Muswellbrook Golf Club for granted either.
Though the proudly represents the Vintage Golf Club, he has finished runner up in three Muswellbrook Golf Club championships having been raised nearby at Sandy Hollow.
“I grew up playing that course for years and I do know it inside and out, it is just a case of putting my golf game together out there,” Joshua Fuller on the Muswellbrook Golf Club.
“I have shot a few 7-unders and 6-unders and I just need to do that for two days because I am looking at winning that.
“I know it so well and I know what I can do out there.”
Other local names expected to feature across the three days include four time Muswellbrook Golf Club champion Brady Benkovic, four time Scone Club Champion McEwan Dawson, Singleton Open winner Clayton Small (Maitland) and professionals Kurt Barnes (Muswellbrook) and Corey Lamb (Branxton).