Australia wins NZ Foursomes title
IN: News | New Zealand Mens Amateur | New Zealand Amateur Championship (2007) | by Bruce Young : iseekgolf.com | 15 Apr 2007
An astounding back nine of 29, six-under par, in the first round set up victory for Australians Justin Roach and Grant Scott in the New Zealand Foursomes championship at the Hamilton Golf Club today.
Playing together for the first time, the New South Wales pair quickly established a rapport and they held a three-shot buffer on their nearest rivals, the Bay of Plenty pairing of Danny Lee and Mark Smith, after a seven-under 65 in the morning.
While they could not sustain their red-hot form in the afternoon, they still managed a strong finish – four birdies in the last seven holes – for a one-under round of 71 on the St Andrews course.
Their winning aggregate of eight-under 136 left them four shots
clear of another Australian combination, Andrew Dodt, from
Queensland and Michael Foster, from Western Australia.
It was also the second lowest score in the long history of the
event, just two shots more than it took Australians Jarrod Lyle
and Michael Sim to win three years ago.
Third place, on three-under 141, was shared by the Anzac pairing of Blake McGrory, from Queensland, and Dean Harvey, from the Windsor club in Christchurch, the Wellington duo of Adam Church and Sean Kells, and the brothers from the Takaka club in Tasman, Blair and Sean Riordan.
Roach, 24, and Scott, 28, had mixed fortunes on the front nine in the first round with four birdies and three bogeys, but their brilliant burst began when Scott chipped in from about 10m for an eagle on the par-5 448m 10th hole.
They both played some attacking approaches which resulted in birdies at 12, 14, 15 and the prospect of beating 30 for nine holes became reality when Roach canned on 16m birdie putt from the lower tier of the 18th green.
“We hit a few shots close for birdies, but we both also holed some 15-footers – the greens are awesome,” Roach said.
Roach, from the Bonnie Doon club and runner-up in the recent Australian match-play final, was contesting his first New Zealand championship while Scott, from the Nelson Bay club, played his first at Coringa last year, making the 36-hole cut.
They were only a shot clear after 27 holes from Lee and Smith, but whereas the New Zealand combination dropped shots on the back nine, the Australians compensated for two earlier bogeys and a double bogey with another storming finish.
Source – NZGA
Photo – Anthony Powter
