N.Z. golfers fail in British Open bids

Press, 15 July 1987, Page 49

N.Z. golfers fail in British Open bids

By

PETER O’HARA

NZPA staff correspondent Muirfield, Scotland New Zealand will be without a representative in the British Open at Muirfield this week after some notable failures in the qualifying competition. At the end of Sunday’s round, Frank Nobilo held the only realistic chance of filling one of the 66 places open to qualifiers. Nobilo shot a level-par 70 at the North Berwick Golf Club in the first round and yesterday had a 68 to force his way into a nine-man play-off for three places. But the places were taken by three Austra-

Hans. New Zealand’s highest ranked golfer, Greg Turner, was the disappointment of the tournament. He had failed narrowly in several categories to qualify after finishing equal-thirty-fifth in last year’s Open at Turnberry. In the first qualifying round on Sunday, Turner had a three-over-par 73 and yesterday did not return a scorecard, making his second round void and automatically ruling him out.

Turner’s woes on Sunday included an unplayable lie in deep rough only a few yards off the

fairway. “The rough was so thick it would have been impossible to move the ball forward at all,” he said. “I ended up going back 50 yards and taking a penalty drop.” New Zealand’s other representatives were Andrew Gossage, who finished 14 over par after two rounds, Peter Hamblett (13 over) and Gary Parkinson (seven over). The only New Zealander eligible for automatic entry into the tournament was Bob Charles, the 1963 winner, but he did not enter.