Pavin unruffled by costly distraction

Press, 6 December 1985, Page 36

Pavin unruffled by costly distraction

By

BOB SCHUMACHER

Corey Pavin does not harbour any ill thoughts towards the spectator whose rumbling stomach might well have cost him the outright lead after the first round of the Broadbank New Zealand Open golf tournament at Russley yesterday.

At the fifth hole, Pavin, the defending champion in the $lOO,OOO event, was standing over a 2m putt for his par, when he heard the crackling of potato chips. It distracted him, and he missed. That was the only hole on which thg little maestro from California dropped a shot, but there were seven birdies to offset those lapses in his outstanding opening round of 67, six under par, enabling him to share the lead with the Australian, Noel Ratcliffe. “It was my fault,” said Pavin, in reference to the mystery chip muncher. “I should have backed away. People get hungry out there, you’ve got to eat.” That incident seemed to be the catalyst Pavin needed to shake off a little early lethargy. “I missed a short putt at three, and again for that par at five. I was not too pleased at that point.” About that time Pavin also forgot about the cold wind. “At No. 5 I got hot enough to keep warm all day. Off came the vest. “I started playing faster and quickening my pace got me in good rhythm on the greens. At the sixth I stepped up, looked behind the ball, behind the hole, and made the putt from 15 feet,” he said. “It reminded me of last year (when he won the New Zealand Open at Paraparaumu Beach with 19 under) and it gave me confidence.” From that point, Pavin was dynamic on the greens. He holed putts from 4m at both seven and eight to save par and two-putted nine for a birdie. He was successful with birdie attempts from 4m at 10, from 3m at 12 and from 2.5 m at 13; then came the best of the birdie putts, a 16m one slightly uphill from the front of the green. At the last he was in danger of dropping a shot when he pulled his second towards the practice putting green, and chipped 5m past the hole. But the putter rang true again. “The putter got hot. I’ve had better striking rounds, but not many better putting rounds. I can’t think of a better putting round all year.” He said he had 24 putts, it may have been one or two more, but whatever, he was in delightful touch. Pavin was surprised that there were few good scores. Only 24 in a field, of 134

bettered par, while 14 equalled 73. Watching cricket is listed as one of Ratcliffe’s hobbies. He did not have much pleasure on Wednesday evening as television relayed New Zealand’s historic third test win against Australia. He gained much more satisfaction yesterday though, as he left the New Zealanders, among others, struggling in his slipstream. He started at 11 and birdied that hole as well as 12 and 13, all with putts of about 4m. An expertly played wedge gave him a tap-in birdie at the third, and he described his sand iron chip shot which, from 8m off the green, went into the hole at the fifth, as his best shot of the .day. He birdied the sixth from 3m, the ninth from 4m, and his 16m birdie at his last hole (the tenth) gave the round its spit and polish. He dropped shots at the eighth and eighteenth. It has not been the most profitable of years for the Sydney professional, but he felt that he had been playing better in the last five or six weeks. Ratcliffe, aged 40, was struck down by pneumonia in Europe earlier this year “and I still haven’t really shaken it off.” “I didn’t hit it great, but it was adequate and I was able to keep the ball in play, and get it reasonably ilose on the greens. “I prefer the pace of :hese greens than the ones it Titirangi last week. They vere superb, it required ouch putting, and they ihould suit the better rntters,” Ratcliffe said. In third place by himself •n 68 was a teen-aged Ausralian, Jason Deep. Sharing fourth with three ither Australians, Larry banning, Jeff Senior and Jteve Elkington, oij 70, was John Williamson, of Canter)ury. As well as leading the imateurs, Williamson was ilso the first New Zealanier. Bob Charles and Simon )wen were among eight jolfers on 71. Also in that Bwere the next two ‘urs, John Sanders and Fames Angus, both of Canerbury. Deep, of Lebanese extracion, hails from CootamunIra in New South Wales. At he age of 15 he became the oungest player to pre[ualify for the Australian )pen. He was unable to make

Australian amateur sides, however. “I was always left out of amateur teams. They would say I was too young, so I decided to turn professional.”

Nine weeks ago he gained his playing ticket, and confirmed his promise by finishing eighth in the New South Wales Open. Perhaps an even greater claim to fame was in the Australian P.G.A. championship. He led after the first round, then “I let Mr Norman take over,” he quipped. Deep, aged 18, started from the eleventh, and did not have to wait too long for his first birdie. At 13 he blasted from a bunker and one-putted.

He birdied 15 from 6m and the next, when a superb pitch left him an easy putt. He was in trees at 17, still there after his second, and dropped his first shot. He relished his entry on to the front nine, with birdies at the first and second, the result of two small Eutts. He lipped out for a irdie at the fifth, but was on target from 5m at the sixth.

A “fried egg” lie in the bunker cost him a stroke at the seventh, but Deep, after missing a 4m birdie attempt at the eighth had his seventh birdie of the round at the par-5 ninth after hitting the green in two. He had a close affinity with his putter, and the greens, which he found similar to The Lakes in Sydney, where he plays much of his golf. Many golfers had promising rounds spoilt by just one bad hole, but none suffered more anguish than John Lister, the pipe-smoking New Zealander who reeled off four successive Garden City Classic championships at Russley a decade ago.

He was the early leader for a good part of the

morning, teeing off at the eleventh and being threeunder after birdies at 13, 15 and 16. ’ He was still in that position when he reached the course’s ‘second hole, a 473 m par-5. When he had holed out he was one-over par. He took nine, going out of bounds with his drive and again with his approach. Lister’s' self destruction continued at the next, when he dropped another shot, but did remarkably well to block out those horrendous happenings, and birdied the last two holes to finish par. Pavin will tee off at 8.33 a.m. today, Ratcliffe at 12.45 p.m. and Deep at 1.3 p.m. Leading scores:— 67: N. Ratcliffe (Aust.), C. Pavin (U.S.). 68: J. Deep (Aust.). 70: L. Canning (Aust.), J. N. Williamson (A., Canty), J. Senior (Aust.), S. Elkington (Aust.). 71: J. B. Sanders (A., Canty), S. Owen (N.Z.), S. Reese (N.Z.), M. Clayton (Aust.), J. M. Angus (A., Canty), B. Vivian (N.Z.), R. J. Charles (N.Z.), T. Power (Aust.). 72: V. Somers (Aust.), J. Clifford (Aust.), L. Tinkler (Aust.), G. Carroll (Aust.), M. Cahill (Aust.), M. Colandro (U.S.), C. Owen (N.Z.), T. Maloney (Aust.), K. White (Aust.). 73: M. B. Guy (N.Z.), K. Murray (Can.), I. Stanley (Aust.), P. Devenport (A., Wgtn), D. Hurter (U.S.), J. Lister (N.Z.), J. Price (Aust.), P. Berthelsen (A., Nelson), P. T. Fox (Aust.), G. Grut (N.Z.), A. Kumar (Fiji), P. Jones (Aust.), C. Henderson (Aust.), P. Fowler (Aust.). 74: M. Street (A., Canty), G. Clarke (N.Z.), G. Watson (N.Z.), R. Coombes (N.Z.), M. Ferguson (Aust.), T. Gale (Aust.), R. Vershure (U.S.), G. Taylor (Aust.), B. Murray (U.S.), B. Soulsby (N.Z.), 0. Kendall (A., Bay of Plenty), D. Hartshorne (N.Z.), A. Gilligan (Aust.), T. Ireland (Aust.), L. Stephen (Aust.), 0. Moore (Aust.). M.

Bembridge (U.K.), M. Loughland (Aust). 75: P. Powell (N.Z.), M. Moynihan (N.Z.), P. Hay-Mac-kenzie (A., Auck.), P. Stoddart' (N.Z.), G. Alexander (Aust.), C. Hearn (Aust.), <A. Gossage (N.Z.), T. J. McDonald (Aust.), R. Davis (Aust.).rß. G. Paterson (A., Canty), W. Riley (Aust.). 76: T. Elliot (Aust.), K. Nagle (Aust.), D. J. Clark (N.Z.), B. Officer (Aust.), S. Ginn (Aust.), E. Boult (A., Blenheim), F. Stamey (U. 5. >-K. Murphy (Aust.), C. Johnsen (U.S.), W. Mclntosh (N.Z.), ML J. R. Atkinson (A., Southland).

77: L. Martin (A., Canty), M. Cunningham (Aust.), G. Percy (N.Z.), T. Jansson (Sweden), A. Bonnington- (N.Z.), W. Godfrey (N.Z.), R. J. F. Stephens (Aust.). 78: B. R. Hughes (A., Wgtn), R. Kitto (N.Z.), I. Roberts (Aust.), S. J. Paterson (A., Canty), P. Hamblett (N.Z.), R. Bell (A., Ashburton), I. Peters (N.Z.), H. D. Morgan (A., Motueka), P. Somers (Aust.), G. C. SanderS (A. Canty), J. Evans (N.Z.), W. Dodd (Aust.). 79: R. Ellis (N.Z.), M. B. Williams (A., New Plymouth), W. R. Davies (N.Z.), G. Todd (A., Waitemata), G. Smart (N.Z.), G. Parkinson (N.Z.). 80: D. J. O’Keefe (A., Canty), R. Letvinchuk (Can.), T. Cochrane (A., Auck.). 81: J. Louwman (A., Canty), R. Welsh (A., Invercargill), M. Elley (A., Canty). . 82: P. Minifie (A., Canty), R. L. Hurley (A., Canty), M. J. Veale (A., Canty), B. Griffiths (N.Z.), J. R. A. Parlane (A., Canty). 83: J. McCormick (A., Canty). 84: P. Skilton (N.Z.), E. Hanton (N.Z.), W. Tucker (A., Canty). 85: K. J. Thompson (A., Waikato), R. L. Jones (Aust.), P. Mahoney (N.Z.), P. Davis (N.Z.), R. L. Start (A., Canty). 86: P. Cassidy (A., Central Otago). 87: A. Whiley (N.Z.), P. J. Hansen (A., Canty), S. E. Milner (Can.), J. Vear (N.Z.), F. P. Adank (A., Otago). 88: R. N. Brightwell (A., Canty), R. Morpeth (N.Z.). 89: A. Machray (N.Z.), J. L. Reid (A., Canty). 91: C. Mitchell (Aust.).