By Bernie Pramberg
Rhein Gibson, the golfer recognised as shooting the lowest round in history, is on target for a strong showing at the Isuzu Queensland Open starting Thursday at Brookwater.
Gibson, 29, who last week won a $70,000 pro-am on the Gold Coast, is coming off a successful year in which he finished fourth to Rory McIlroy at the Australian Open and made the cut at the British Open.
Rhein Gibson will be confident heading into the Queensland Open.Credit: Brett Hemmings
He partnered Tiger Woods during the third round of the Open Championship at Royal Liverpool.
"I feel like my game is okay coming into the Queensland Open," Gibson said. "It was good to win on the Gold Coast and I played alright in Fiji the previous week.
"I shared the opening round lead in Fiji and felt I didn't play that badly for the rest of the event, but the course was brutal. Overall it has been a fair year but I wish I'd played a bit more consistently."
Gibson will partner young Queenslander Cameron Smith and experienced Victoria David Bransdon in the opening two rounds.
Originally from Lismore, Gibson has been based in Oklahoma City in the United States for a number of years.
"I graduated from college there and my wife is from Oklahoma," he said.
Gibson gained notoriety in 2012 when he shot an astonishing 16-under, 55 at the River Oaks Golf Club in Oklahoma, a feat since recognised by Guinness World Records as the lowest round in history.
Starting on the back nine of the 6698-yard, par-71 course, Gibson opened with a routine par before notching two eagles and a birdie on the next three holes.
He continued his birdie blitz with five straight to close a stunning opening nine in 26 shots, some 10-under par. Forced to wait 15 minutes on the next tee, he then carded successive pars but then birdied six of the last seven for an incredible 55.
"I don't want that round to define my career," he said. "But it is nice to have it in my back pocket.
"As far as helping me, it really hasn't except for a little bit of notoriety. I'm just trying to make a living playing golf and, hopefully, people can see I can play the game."
Gibson played a practice nine holes at Brookwater on Monday followed by the pro-am.
"The greens are quite small and it will take good accuracy this week to score well," he said.
Gibson will contest the US PGA Web.Com Tour qualifying school later in the year.