Trio shares pro-am prize

Press, 5 December 1985, Page 80

Trio shares pro-am prize

By

BOB SCHUMACHER

Two professionals who need no introduction to New Zealand golf, Bob Charles and Simon Owen, and a tall, youthful Australian newcomer, Mike Loughland, yesterday shared the first prizemoney of $l5OO in the pro-am which preceded the Broadbank New Zealand Open golf championship at

Russley yesterday. The trio had rounds of 68, five-under par, and the deeds of Charles, continuing his impressive form of last week at Titirangi in the AnNew Zealand Shell Open, and Owen augured well for New Zealand prospects in the $lOO,OOO open over the next four days. Owen had three very good rounds at Titirangi, 68, 70

and 69, but a 76 in the third round prevented him from finishing higher than equal twenty-fifth.

However, he said yesterday that Titirangi did not suit his aggressive style of play. “I like to play attacking golf, and Russley should suit me much better.”

Owen had a spectacular start and a spectacular finish. He birdied the first two

holes and, just when it seemed that he was to miss a share of the top prize, he shot birdies at the last two holes.

In between there were two lapses, and two more birdies, at the difficult fifth and the eleventh, when he almost holed out for an eagle. “I missed two two-footers at the ninth and tenth, one for a birdie (at nine) and the other for a par,” Owen said.

High praise for the preparation and condition of the Russley course come from Charles, who played consistently. “This would be the best conditioned golf course I have ever seen in New Zealand,” said Charles. “The fairways are well grassed — nice and green — and it is almost impossible to find a weed on them.”

Charles found the greens “a delight to putt on. They are not excessively fast, and the ball rolls well on them,” he said.

Loughland, equal twentieth at Titirangi, was bracketed with another Australian, Brett Officer, in the pro-am draw. It was Loughland who took his place in the field.

It proved financially worth while. He had six birdies,. and only one oneover in his excellent round, marked by well-judged putting.

The top pro-am score was 57, 16-unaer par, accomS" ’ id by Kelly Murphy’s of Greg McGlynn, lan Eyles and one of Canterbury’s leading amateurs, James Angus.

Murphy, a young Australian professional in Christchurch for the first time, was excited as he and his team kept scoring the birdies.

He had five birdies, as did Angus, a two-handicapper, and the team, at the tail-end of the field, knew it had to birdie four of the last five holes to go under the best total of 58.

That they did, with the necessary birdie at the last hole coming from Eyles, who, with a shot at the hole, hit a No. 5 wood on to the tenth green, and got down in two putts for a par-three and a net two. Best professional rounds: 68: ML Loughland (Aust.), R. J. Charles (N.Z.), S. Owen (N.Z.). 69: S. Taylor (Aust.), W. Dodd (Aust.). 70: A. Gilligan (Aust.), P. t Somers (Aust.), J. Senior (Aust.), T. Gale (Aust.), R, Davis (Aust.), S. Reese (N.Z.). 71: A. Bennington (N.Z.), L. Tinkler (Aust.), C. Johnsen (U.S.), S. Ginn (Aust.). 72: R. Vershire (U.S.), G. Grut (N.Z.), W. Godfrey (N.Z.), C. Pavin (U.S.), J. Lister (N.Z.).

73: L. Stephen (Aust.), -D. Hartshorne (N.Z.), V. Somers (Aust.), T. McDonald (Aust.), T. Power (Aust.), P. Hamblett (N.Z.), B. Murray (Aust.), K. Murphy (Aust.). Leading net scores, professionals named first:

57: K. Murphy (Aust.), G. McGlynn, I. Eyles, J. Angus. 58: M. Cahill (Aust.), D. Flavell, M. Randrup, J. Callaghan. 59: G. Alexander (Aust.), D. McKenzie, I. Toussaint, I. McNish; C. Henderson (Aust), M. Holdsworth, B. Shackell, T. Smither, D. Hartshorne (N.Z.), G. Nobbs, T. Quinn, A. Kerr. 60: R. J. Charles (N.Z.), T. Reynolds, R. Carson, G. Cooke; J. Lister (N.Z.), K. Stacey, G. Simpson, J. Blair; S. Owen (N.Z.), T. Rattray, H. Peacock, W. Head. 61: W. Riley (Aust.), R. Swinard, B. O r Callaghan, R. Watson; M. Ferguson (Aust.), B. Baldwin, F. James, M. Tamuta; A. Bennington (N.Z.), C. Dawson, J. O’Carroll, R. Murtha; L. Tinkler (Aust.), D. Bishop, M. Barber, D. Rowe; O. Moore (Aust.), A. Collie, P. De Joux, G. Walker, C. Pavin (U.S.), F. Bishop, K. Wetere, P. Joyce; S. Ginn (Aust.), J. Day, K. Frampton, J. Hall. The defending New Zealand Open champion, Corey Pavin, of the United States, will be partnered by two accomplished Australians, Ossie Moore and Rodger Davis, who was runner-up in Auckland last week-end, in today’s first round. They will tee off at 12.54 p.m. ■ Other leading professionals and their tee off times are:

8.24 a.m: Terry Gale, Stuart Reese, lan Stanley. No. 11 tee: Noel Ratcliffe, John Clifford, Simon Owen. 8.33 a.m: John Lister, Gerry Taylor, Stewart Ginn. 1.03 p.m: Bob Charles, Peter Fowler, Wayne Riley. 1.12 p.m: Maurice Bembridge, Lindsay Stephen, Mtye Colandro.