Eight birdies for Bembridge in P.G.A.

Press, 9 December 1983, Page 34

Eight birdies for Bembridge in P.G.A.

PA

Tauranga

A shanked shot at the seventeenth hole cost a Wellington professional, Richard Coombes, the outright lead on the first day of the Bay Classic 58th N.Z.P.G.A. golf championship at Mount Maunganui yesterday.

Coombes scored six birdies in his five-under-par 67 to finish equal with Maurice Bembridge. Bembridge scored eight birdies, the most of any of the 99 starters. But the lowa-based Englishman had bad luck at the ninth, after he blazed over the first seven with five birdies. His tee shot landed on the edge of the green and kicked off, running down into clover and settling on a twig. Unfortunately, the angle of the twig prevented true contact with the ball and it cost him a doublebogey. Coombes looked as if he might edge Bembridge for the lead, but that fairway shank dashed his hopes. The shot left Coombes with a shelter hedge, the eighteenth tee, a pathway, and a raised platform between him and the seventeenth green.

He was fortunate to drop only one stroke there, but it was a measure of his composure that he immediately birdied the par-three final hole.

One stroke behind the leaders are Simon Owen and an American, Brent Murray. Murray had a flawless round, dropping no shots and scoring four birdies.

Owen had six birdies, and looked like he might start a real charge when he sank a long putt at the tenth and followed with a superb second at the eleventh. But thereafter he was only thereabouts, sometimes

narrowly missing birdies and a couple of times struggling for par. Three Australians, lan Baker-Finch, Vaughan Somers, and Lindsay Pickles, followed with three-under-par 695. Baker-Finch did not drop a shot during his round, and nor did Bob Charles, who was steadiness personified with one birdie in each of the nine holes. With Charles on twounder 70s were Graham Marsh of Australia and two New Zealanders, Barry Vivian and Kim Southerden, while the one-unders incuded two former P.G.A. winners, John Lister and Kel Nagle (Australia). Perhaps the highlight of the day was that there was any play at all, after a 24hour downpour, but conditions were surprisingly good. While the greens had slowed they brought praise from the players. Simon Owen said “If anyone missed a putt it was no fault but his own.”

Sixteen players bettered par.

Leading scores after the first round (New Zealand professionals unless otherwise stated). 67— Maurice Bembridge (England), Richard Coombes. 68— Simon Owen, Brent Murray (U.S). 69— Vaughan Somers (Aust.), lan Baker-Finch (Aust.). 70— Kim Southerden, Barry Vivian, Graham Marsh (Aust.), Bob Charles. 71— Steven Bidwell, John Godwin (U.S.), Kel Nagle (Aust.), John Lister, Lindsay

Pickles (Aust.), Mike Moynihan.

72— P. Brostedt (Sweden), P. Mateer, Steve Anderson-Chap-man (Canada), W. Davies, Peter Jones (Aust.), Geoff Alexander (Aust.). 73— E. McGrew (U.S.), W. Riley, Billy Dunk (Aust.), Frank Nobilo, George Serhan (Aust.), D. Machray, P. Murray (Aust.), I. Smalley, Chas Henderson (Aust.), R. Stephens (Aust.), S. Bann (Aust.). 74— Phil Headland, (Aust.), Craig Owen, Brian Jones (Aust.), Art Russell (U.S.), R. Drager (U.S.), Terry Kendall, D. Sullivan, F. Conallin (Aust.), Walter Godfrey, Mike Harwood (Aust.), B. Watt, B. Smith (Aust.), P. Mahoney. 75— R. Kitto, P. Powell, A. Snape, J. Clifford (Aust.), G. Mark, B. Shettler (Canada), M. Clayton (Aust.), P. Hamblett, K. Tarling (Canada), T- Ireland (Aust.).