Ikin's golf dream ends with Qld PGA debut

A chastening two-day experience at the Queensland PGA has convinced former rugby league professional Ben Ikin to go back to being a social golfer.

By Ed Jackson, Australian Associated Press

Ben Ikin's foray into top-level golf is over after two rounds of the Queensland PGA championship in Toowoomba.

The former Queensland rugby league five-eighth shot a 15-over round of 85 at the City Golf Club on Friday to finish his tournament last in the 156-strong field.

Combined with an 11-over first round 81 on Thursday, Ikin ended the tournament on 26-over overall - 27 shots behind the tournament cut of one-under par.

Though thankful for the opportunity to take part in the tournament, Ikin was unequivocal when asked if his golfing career would progress any further.

"That's it for me," the 42-year-old said.

"I'm just going to go back working with my coach and playing for fun.

"It was a bit of a bucket list ticked off to play in a professional tournament but I've got to be honest with you, the pressure I found myself under at different stages when things weren't going right, I know now and understand how mentally fine tuned you need to be to play four days of quality golf.

"Then you've got to go to another level after that to actually win the tournament.

"I don't think I'm up to that challenge."

Ikin began his second round with two double bogeys and two bogeys on the first four holes and then another bogey on the sixth.

He started the back nine with a birdie on the 10th but his game unravelled with a double bogey and then a quadruple bogey on the 12th and 13th.

Ikin said a building wind on the back nine had unsettled him.

"When the wind started blowing I started to behave like the pet dog, I went a bit mad," he said.

At the other end of the leaderboard, five birdies on the back nine by NSW pro Lincoln Tighe gave him a seven-under 63 to put him two shots clear of the field on 13-under in his first tournament since breaking a hand last year.

"I wasn't too sure how everything would hold up but it's been good so far," said Tighe.

"I was working in my dad's jewellery shop and I think that's why I might be playing so well because I don't want to go back there," he joked.

Queenslander Daniel Nisbet (63) is two shots behind Tighe in second-place heading into Saturday's third round.


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