|
 Newsroom Taranaki Open 2004 Christchurch professional Ryan Haywood has a one-shot lead after the first round of the Olex Taranaki Golf Open in New Plymouth today. Haywood took advantage of the more benign morning conditions at the Ngamotu links course to fire a four-under par 68. He holds a one-shot lead over pre-tournament favourite and fellow professional Tim Wilkinson (Manawatu). The Olex Taranaki Open is the first Golf Tour of New Zealand events, a new initiative founded by top Kiwi golfer Greg Turner, which provides competition for New Zealand's elite players, both amateur and professional. Thirty professionals are vying for the $40,000 prizemoney, with both the New Zealand women's and men's teams competing as a final shakedown before next month's Espirito Santo and Eisenhower World Teams Championships in Puerto Rico. The professionals led the way with Rotorua professional Nic Davey in third place with a two-under 70, one shot ahead of young Waikato pro Scott Pickett, who was the leading performer in the afternoon field. Four players share even-par 72 with Waikato professional Glenn Millen joining leading amateurs Jim Cusdin (Hamilton), Guy Penrose (Cambridge) and Taihape's Hamish Robertson, runner-up in the national amateur championship two years ago. Haywood shot six birdies, including a run of four in a row, and two bogies in a superb round for the young professional, who gained his Australasian PGA Tour card last November. The Christchurch-based Australian, who played No 1 for Canterbury amateur team over the last two years, was pleased with his first round start. "I did not make any silly bogeys which was pleasing. I basically took advantage of the shorter par 5s,"' Haywood said. "The course was playing great and on the whole I drove it pretty good. That allowed me to hit some sand irons close on two or three holes." He made a top start to his professional career, winning three tournaments in Fiji including the Fiji Open. Like many young professionals, the test has been to find sufficient tournaments to make a living. "This new concept will be great. The key is being able to play and if this Tour grows, it will fill a big hole for Kiwi professionals." Wilkinson managed four birdies and one bogey in a solid start to the tournament. "I was quite pleased with the start. Generally I hit the ball quite solidly and did not get into any serious trouble," Wilkinson said. "The course played well today and the greens were receptive. Some of my iron approaches were not what I wanted but I managed to get up and down okay." The best scoring came in the morning conditions, with a freshening nor-westerly giving way to afternoon rain and a much tougher test on the exposed parts of the Ngamotu links. Davey, a Rotorua-based professional on the Canadian Tour, fired two birdies and two bogies along with a closing eagle on the par-5 18th. Pickett produced a superb short game with two birdies and one bogey in a strong performance in cold, wet and blustery conditions. Cusdin mixed four birdies with four bogeys, while the left-handed Penrose cancelled out two birdies with two bogeys. The leading woman was national junior representative Natasha Krishna who fired a five-over 77, while Wellington professional Mark Brown, who braved the worst of the conditions in the final grouping, shot a one-over 73 including quadruple bogey 9 on the par-5 8th hole. The field will be cut to the leading 90 players after tomorrow's second round, with the top 60 qualifying for Sunday's final round. |
|
