If you were headed to the Masters and wanted to find your best form, you could do worse than take a tip from Curtis Luck.
Luck, 20, begins his trek from Perth to Augusta National on Wednesday via next week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational, also in the United States.
And he might have to find extra protection for his white-hot sticks in transit, coming off rounds of 63 and a club-best 61 in two spectacular rounds at his home club, Cottesloe.
On Thursday last week, the US Amateur and Asia Pacific Amateur champion teed up with good mates James Connor and Mike Pentland in a stableford competition and duly carded a staggering 42 points off his daily handicap of +5.
His 11-under-par 61, the best score ever recorded at the famous coastal club, won’t be recognised as a club record because it wasn’t fired in a stroke round.
For the record, Luck has also fired 62 twice at Cottesloe where he shares the official record of 63 with Steve Jones.
Luck’s 61 featured seven back-nine birdies, plus two to complete his front nine. Remarkably, he lipped out with a birdie try on 15 and grazed the hole on 18 else could have snared 11 in a row.
But not yet ready to end his scoring blitz and now playing off +6, Luck signed for 39 points in the Saturday comp when he lipped out on his last hole, the ninth, and locked in another breathtaking 63.
Remarkably, Luck is a staggering 63 under par in his past 11 competition rounds at Cottesloe, meaning an average score of 66.3 since November 24.
That’s pretty reasonable form to take into your major championship debut.
(Getty Images)
Club legend and scribe Phil Ryan, the WA golf industry volunteer of the year in 2016, caught up with Luck after his Thursday special and asked him how his 61 came to pass …
1: Birdie: I hit a driver little left, slightly up against a tree, chipped to 15 foot and rolled putt in for a birdie.
2: Par: Six iron to 25 feet and two putted it.
3: Par: Driver and a gap wedge to 12 foot and lipped out high side.
4: Birdie: Driver in fairway, hybrid to greenside, chipped to four foot and sank birdie.
5: Par: 8-iron to 25 feet and two putted for par.
6: Par: Three wood, pitching wedge from rough to eight foot straight uphill, but missed.
7: Par: Driver and then bad 80 metre pitch to 20 feet, left putt just short in the jaws.
8: Birdie: Driver, I took Tiger line over corner (and) got caught up in the trees. Nipped a tree coming out on what was nearly a ridiculous golf shot, rebounded over to trees on the other side; still had shot and knocked sand wedge to six feet and knocked it in.
9: Birdie: Driver to fairway, happy to five feet above hole and sank birdie.
Out in 32
10: Birdie: Driver in fairway, gap wedge to six feet for birdie.
11: Birdie: Six iron to 4 foot, knocked it in.
12: Birdie: Driver sand wedge to 12 foot, but a foot off edge, rolled it in.
13: Birdie: Four iron to five feet, knocked it in.
14: Birdie: Driver, five iron to 20 feet, eagle putt rolled around high side, tap in birdie.
15: Par: Driver, 9 iron from 125 to 16 feet, lipped out on the low side for what would have been eight in a row.
16: Birdie: Drove it in middle of the green, two putted for birdie.
17: Birdie: Driver in fairway, 3 wood to right pot, bunker shot to a foot birdie.
18: Par: Driver wedge to 14 feet, birdie looked in but grazed high edge of hole for my 60.
Home in 29
Total 61
(Image: Phil Ryan)
