Aussie golf’s renowned long bomber Lincoln Tighe could be about to end a decade-long drought at the PNG Open
Wollongong’s big-hitting Lincoln Tighe wants to validate years of persistence as he attempts to fend off a host of challengers on the final day of the Papua New Guinea Open.
It’s been more than a decade since he last won a world rankings event, but big-hitting Lincoln Tighe wants to validate years of persistence when he tries to fend off a host of challengers on the final day of the Papua New Guinea Open.
The Wollongong-based Tighe, whose last professional win came at the NSW PGA Championship in 2014, has long been renowned as one of the power hitters on the PGA Tour of Australasia circuit – and clearly has found a course which fits his game.
The 35-year-old fought his way to a one-shot lead after the third round in Port Moresby, trying to break one of the longest active winning droughts on tour.
It’s not as if Tighe hasn’t been competitive in recent years – and he had a successful Pro-Am stint during the off-season – but wins have been hard to find and he won’t have a better chance than the first event of the new campaign in PNG.
Tighe (-9) signed for a one-under 71 in his third round on Saturday, opening up a one-shot cushion from a quartet of chasers, including Queensland’s Gavin Fairfax and Will Florimo, Victoria’s Joel Mitchell and NSW’s Corey Lamb, who were all at eight-under.
Tighe’s best career performance was when he tied for fifth behind Matt Jones at the 2015 Australian Open, launching bombs off the tee at the famed The Australian course, and speaking about his dad’s career as a jeweller in interviews afterwards.
Tighe will be hoping there will be another engraver on standby if he can crack a long-awaited win in the Pacific.
“It feels good,” Tighe said. “I’ve been over here a lot of times now and played the course. I feel quite comfortable out there and know where to hit it.
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“It would mean a lot (to win). Last year I had new things in my life, my little boy came along and (I want) to support my wife and she supports me. Last year was rough (on the course), but I kept my job, which was OK. A win would be great and it’s been a while since my last one.”
Florimo and Lamb played in the final group during the third round, but both couldn’t replicate the highs of their opening 36 holes with one-over 73s.
Jordan Doull, Andrew Campbell and Ben Henkel were all two shots shy of Tighe at seven-under on a congested leaderboard.
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