Lister holds golf lead

Press, 19 November 1977, Page 60

Lister holds golf lead

NZPA staff correspondent Sydney John Lister, of New Zealand, shot his second sub-par round yesterday and maintained his lead in the sAustlBo,ooo Australian Open golf championship at the Australian Golf Club. After 36-holes, he shares the lead with the American Don January, who birdied the final two holes yesterday to return a second-round 70. The pair are on 141, three under par, and, with only a few unfancied players still on the course, looked certain to go into today’s third round with a two-stroke lead over two Americans. Jerry McGee and Mark Hayes. But the second day of the tournament belonged to the “Golden Bear” — Jack Nicklaus, who has just redesigned the Australian Goll Club course. Nicklaus scored a five over 77 on Thursday, and started by bogeying the first hole yesterday. But birdies at the fifth, eighth, fourtheenth, fifteenth, sixteenth and eighteenth gave him a five-under 67, a new course record, and left him on even terms with a number of players, including the New Zealander Bob Charles. At one stage Charles was two under, bu* he dropped shots on the fifteenth and sixteenth holes to return his second successive par round of 72. McGee was another to return a big sub-par round yesterday — scoring a fourunder 68 after Thursday’s 75.

Lister said at the end of his round that he was driving as well as he had ever done. But despite holing a couple of long putts, he was out on the practice green soon after yesterday’s round trying, as he put it, to “get in the groove.”

141—John Lister (N.Z.). 70, 71; Don January (U.S.), 71, 70. 143— Mark Hayes (U.S.), 74. 69; Jerry McGee (U.S.), 75, 68; Bruce Lietzke (U.S.), 72, 71. 144— Bob Charles (N.Z.). 72, 72; Randall Vines (Qld), 74, 70; Jack Nicklaus (U.S.), 77. 67; Jack Newton (N.S.W.), 71, 73. 145— Jerry Pate (U.S.), 74. 71; David Graham (N.S.W.), 74, 71. 146— Mark Lye (U.S.), 73, 73; John O’Leary (Ireland), 74, 72; Manuel Pinero (Spain), 74, 72; David Galloway (S.A.), 71, 75; Graham Marsh (WA-), 73, 73. 147— Art Russell (U’-5), 75, 72. 148— Mike Franty (US.), 75, 73; Bob Byman (U.S.), 78, 70; Andy Bean (U.S.), 73, 75: Eddie Nival (Philippines), 71, W. 149— Rik Massengale (U.S.), 74, 75; Terry Gale rtVA.), 74, 75; Dennis Clark (NZ), 72, 77.