FOR the second tournament in succession, Bendigo golfers Andrew Martin and Kris Mueck will play in the same group when the Australian PGA tees off at Royal Pines on Thursday.
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Martin and Mueck were in the same group for the first two rounds of last week’s New South Wales PGA in Sydney.
It seemed to help the Bendigo duo, with both golfers performing strongly in the opening two rounds.
Mueck shot an even-par 71 and eight-under par 63 in the first two rounds, while Martin was two shots adrift with rounds of 66 and 70.
Mueck finished the tournament the stronger, closing with a five-under par 66 to be tied for third behind Lincoln Tighe.
Martin slipped to a tie for 41st after rounds of 72 and 73 on the weekend.
On Thursday Martin and Mueck will tee off at 1.20pm (AEDT) with fellow Victorian David McKendrick.
The Australian PGA has attracted a strong field, including defending champion Adam Scott, Marc Leishman, John Senden, Australian Masters winner Nick Cullen and American duo Boo Weekley and Scott Stallings.
Leishman is hoping the Australian PGA can break his title duck for 2014.
Leishman's 2014 campaign was impressive, the 31-year-old Victorian posting seven top-10 finishes on tour and hitting a career-high world ranking of No.39 in August.
But, in a year when six of his countrymen claimed US tour titles, Leishman couldn't add to his Traveler's Championship victory in 2012 - still his sole win.
"I didn't win any, which was disappointing, but I gave myself lots of chances and that's important for your confidence," Leishman said.
"The British Open, I felt I had a good chance there. The Bridgestone, the Masters - for a while ... going into those tournaments next year, the way I played in those this year will help."
Leishman skipped the Australian Masters and Australian Open in recent weeks to take a break following his last tournament in China in November.
That break and confidence from his strong form have him heading into this week's tournament feeling good.
"Sometimes when you get back after a long year in the States, when you haven't had time to recharge the batteries, you're maybe not as prepared for these tournaments as you should be," he said.
"I've prepared for this really well this year."
