Clark sets hot pace with six-under 64

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33424, 4 January 1974, Page 16

Clark sets hot pace with six-under 64

(New Zealand Press Association) TAURANGA. " The Palmerston North professional, D. Clark, with a six-under-par 64, held a one-stroke lead after the first round of the New Zealand P.G.A. championship at Tauranga yesterday.

Clark’s superb round, kept him in front of a 1 strong Australian challenge. ( 1 1 ( 1 < < ( 1 1 1 1 ( 1

On 65 was B. Milgate, and a further stroke away were a trio of Australians, J. Evans, L. Sharp and P. Tutt.

The Dunedin and Christchurch winner, J. M. Lister, shared 67 with the pro-am victor and new course recordholder, K. D. G. Nagle, R. R. Newdick was on 68, and a host of players followed with 69s and 70s. ONLY 27 PUTTS

Clarke, who was a New Zealand representative at the World Cup tournament in Spain late last year, followed his good round of 65 in the pro-am on Wednesday by taking only 27 putts, although he admitted afterwards that he had found the greens “a little slow.”

His last success was winning a pro-am tournament at Dannevirke before Christmas. Compared with the brilliant scoring in the pro-am round, yesterday’s golf was not particularly exciting, with the early playing steady rather than spectacular. Birdies and eagles were offset by equally bad holes, and many of the top players finished well down the list. An example was the Australian, I. Stanley, who carded six birdies but could finish no better than 69, dropping two shots on the par-five thirteenth. Another casualty was his countryman, D. Good, who also finished on 69. He birdied the first two holes, but dropped two shots on the par-four third and a further stroke on the par-three fifth. The tall American, J. Breaux, who on Wednesday shot an eight-under-par 62, ran into all sorts of difficulties on the outward nine, taking 41 shots. He had twoovers at the second and ninth.

QUIETER NAGLE Nagle, who blazed around the course in a record-break-ing 61 on Wednesday, was not able to maintain his touch yesterday, and had a quiet round of 67, including four birdies and a one-over. Lister was another who played quietly. On Wednesday, he finished with 64 after putting a ball out of bounds on the thirteenth. Yesterday, he scored two birdies in the first nine, but also dropped a shot. A three-putt on the

■ twelfth left him square with ; the card, but then he scored . successvie birdies on the thir- : teenth, fourteenth, and fif- , teenth. Lister’s putting let him • down. On many of the greens : his putts were on line but stopped inches short. When s he was up, the ball usually , dropped. ! Leading scores: 64—D. Clark (N.Z.). ■ 65—8. Milgate (Aust.). i 66—L. Sharp (Aust.). P. Tutt I (Aust.). J. Evans (Aust.). 1 67—K. Nagle (Aust.), J. Lister , (N.Z.). 68— R. Newdick (N.Z.). 69— -A. Day (Kaikohe), I. Stanley (Aust.), W. Davies (N.Z.), D. Good (Aust.), S. Ginn (Aust.), P. Shadlock (N.Z.). 70— R. Tuohy (Aust.), P. Croker (Aust.). *W. Simpson : (Tokoroa), M. Tapper (Aust.;, B. i Vivian (N.Z.). P. Iggo (N.Z.), *R. . Coombes (Hutt). R. Mangelsdorf (Aust.). W. Godfrey (N.Z.). 71— R. Gould (N.Z.), -R. , Cameron (Hawera), "K. Carter . (Tauranga), A. Snape (N.Z.), *E. McDougall (Tokoroa), C. Pettitt . (Aust.).