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 2006 GTNZ Olex Taranaki Open Thursday 28 – Sunday 1 October, 2006 Brown holds on to claim GTNZ Olex Taranaki Open 1 October 2006 Wellington golfer Mark Brown earned his first major victory as a professional when he took out the $40,000 GTNZ Olex Taranaki Open in New Plymouth today. The overnight leader shot a final round two-under par 70 to finish on 14-under par 274 to hold off all chasers at the Ngamotu links course. He finished three shots ahead of Asian Tour professional Mathew Holten (Christchurch) with a further two shots back to local professional Grant Moorhead on nine-under. Three players shared fourth place including professionals Brad Shilton (Waikato) and Michael Hendry (Auckland) along with leading amateur, New Zealand's No 1 Josh Geary on eight under. It proved a strong tournament for the professionals who filled 10 of the top 12 placings in the event that is part of the Golf Tour New Zealand established by Greg Turner to provide opportunities for young New Zealand professionals and to raise the bar for the leading amateurs, both men and women. It also proved an excellent shakedown for the New Zealand amateur men's team ahead of this month's world championship for the Eisenhower Trophy. Geary was tied for fourth, while James Gill was ninth and Mark Purser 13th, both players from Waikato. Gill impressed, arriving back in New Zealand from Europe the day before the tournament. He shot a four-over 76 in the first round and was then 10-under for the next three rounds including a six-under 66 today to continue his run of finishing par or better in every strokeplay tournament for the past 12 months. Moorhead made the most of his local knowledge after heavy early morning rain with a white-hot start to his round. He made five birdies and an eagle in his opening 10 holes to jump to 11-under for the tournament and second place. At that stage he was just two shots off the lead but his fairytale run came to an end when he dropped three shots at the 12th and 13th to stunt his chances. His third placing overall has elevated him back to the top of the NZPGA Order of Merit rankings. "It felt great. It's what you play the game for to get yourself in those situations," Moorhead said. "You have to keep your mind on the job though because those numbers reverberate in your head and you start to feel you can do something really special. "I did that. I hit one bad shot, tried to get too cute out of the bunker and I had a double bogey. And I tried to get fancy on the next hole instead of playing the safe side of the pins and putting well. "That said it was a good tournament for me as I have not had a lot of practice lately." Brown made an excellent birdie at the 10th hole to push his advantage to six shots after Moorhead's demise and from there in he was too steady for any challengers. He made four birdies in his two-under 70 with his win making amends for two years ago when he was beaten by one shot in the first Olex GTNZ event after Ryan Hayward chipped in for an eagle on the last hole. The victory was a boost for Brown who recently resigned his role as golf development manager for Wellington Golf to return to the playing circuit fulltime. He will take on the qualifying school for the Australasian and Asian tours across the Tasman next month. "It was awesome. It was important to get off to a good start because I didn't want that gap to close too much," Brown said. "I played pretty steady today. It's not easy to have everyone chasing you for two days but my swing held up and the putting was reasonable. "I am looking forward to what is in front of me. This definitely gives me some confidence. The GTNZ concept is fantastic and I hope Greg Turner can get some further backing around the country because it is important if we are going to develop golfers in this country." Full scores www.gtnz.org For further information: |
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