In-form Bonhomme continues winning ways
BY Bruce Young | Von Nida Tour | 2007 Queensland PGA | Round Four | 04 Nov 2007
Andrew Bonhomme leaves Australia’s shores this week with the Charles Bonham Trophy as the 2007 Greater Building Society Queensland PGA Champion and, with stage two qualifying for the PGA Tour only ten days away, his maiden Von Nida Tour victory could not have come at a better time.
Bonhomme returned from the USA on Monday after advancing through Stage One of the USPGA Tour School and by winning his most significant tournament at home and perhaps his most significant overall, he heads back to Houston buoyed by the new level he has achieved with his game in 2007.
The victory, at Emerald Lakes Golf Club on the Gold Coast, also ensures Bonhomme will have starts at both the Australian PGA Championship and the Australian Open on his return from what will hopefully be the final stage of Tour School in early December. It has therefore been a significant week in the career of the 35 year old who these days lives in Goondiwindi in south west Queensland.
Bonhomme started the final round two shots behind the long term leader, Darren Beck, and fell even further back when he bogeyed both the second and third holes. At that point he was five shots behind the leader, Beck, but he started his run in the middle of his round with birdies at the 6th, 8th, 10th, 12th, 14th and 15th holes and stood on the 18th tee tied in the lead with Beck and one ahead of Michael Curtain who had also made a big move on day four.
Beck had led from day one when he opened with a round of 62 and had the pressure of leading throughout the event. For one of his limited experience in such a situation he fought well and it took an impressive mid round comeback by the more experienced Bonhomme to catch him. He faltered at the very last hole when he three putted from 30 feet but to some extent that was excusable as, after Bonhomme had hit his approach from 103 metres to three feet, Beck likely felt he needed to hole his lengthy birdie putt to tie. The three putt would prove costly however as he fell back into a share of second with Michael Curtain.
Victorian, Curtain, had all but given up the idea of playing professional golf and was waiting on the outcome of these last few events to see if he would continue to pursue such a career or look for other options.
“This is a great cause for optimism and I have to thank my fiancee for her role this week,” said Curtain at the prize giving.
Matthew Guyatt, a trainee at Indooroopilly after playing as a professional for a year or two, will also be thinking that he might yet have a playing future after his last round of 65 saw him move through the field to finish alone in 4th place.
Michael Brennan was another to threaten the lead before bogeys at his final two holes cost him any chance of posting a score that would threaten those behind on the golf course. He finished 5th while Heath Reed was 6th and Peter Senior 7th.
The Von Nida Tour moves to the Hunter Valley in New South Wales for this week’s final event of the season, the New South Wales Open, with Bonhomme leading the Tour’s money list. He will not play this week’s NSW Open for obvious reasons but if he is able to maintain his lead in the Order of Merit, a start at next year’s lucrative HSBC Championship in China is also in store.
