Geary, Ropiha win NZ Foursomes Title
IN: News | New Zealand Mens Amateur | New Zealand Amateur Championship (2006) | Final Round | 02 Apr 2006
Despite finishing eight shots worse off in their second round, New Zealand representative golfers Josh Geary and Troy Ropiha won the national foursomes by a shot from the Canterbury pair, John Bae and Nigel Davis, at the Coringa Country Club in Christchurch today.
Geary (Mt Maunganui) and Ropiha (New Plymouth) combined for the first time and they complemented each other outstandingly in the first round, a five-under 68 giving them a three shot at half way.
They held it at five-under through 31 holes, but a disastrous double-bogey at the 32nd threatened their title aspirations. They were two shots ahead of Bae and Davis after 34 but bogeyed the 35th when Geary's par putt did a revolution of the hole.
They needed a par at the last and Geary played a fine short iron to 2.5m and while Ropiha missed the birdie putt – it lipped out for the third time in four holes – the return putt was a formality for Geary.
Geary and Ropiha finished on 144, two-under par, one ahead of Bae and Davis with another Canterbury pair, Karl Mariu and Jason Sincock (Kaiapoi) in third place on two-over par.
Bay of Plenty 15-year-old Danny Lee combined with Ashburton's Daniel Pearce to take fourth on three-over 149, one shot ahead of the best of the Australians, Scott Arnold and Australian match-play champion Tim Stewart.
Bae and Davis, playing off the 10th in the afternoon, turned in two-under 34 with birdies at 10, 16 and 18 and a bogey at 13, but they improved to four-under through 13 with birdies at the par-5 first and fourth holes.
However, their challenge for the title nose-dived through two three-putts and dropped shots at the par-3 fifth and seventh holes had them home in par 37 for a two-under 71.
Geary and Ropiha had an eagle on the first hole (their 10th), and four birdies in their 68 on the 6497m course with their only bogey coming at the par-4 eleventh in the morning and that set them up for the title.
Andrew Henare (Manor Park) and Riki Kauika (Tawhero), who shared the title last year with Australians Michael Sim and Mitchell Brown, carded a five-over 78 in the first round and a 79 in the afternoon.
Source - NZGA
