MIXED RESULTS FOR KIWIS

By Neville Idour

There were mixed results for New Zealand professional golfers at the weekend. Ryan Fox battled the challenging Renaissance Course at the Scottish Open after a +4 first round left him likely to miss the cut. However an excellent -2 68 saw him one shot inside the cutline. A third round 73 dropped him well down the pecking order but a final round 69 moved him up to a T47th. His nemesis was the 18th hole which he played four over par although he managed pars on 17 and 18 on the final day.

These two holes played well over par as many players struggled manfully to keep bogey away. Remarkably the winner Xander Schauffele was five over par on those two holes. There was enough good play to encourage Fox for the Open this week. He now sits 48th on World Rankings. Keep an eye out for Queenstowner Ben Campbell who is also in the field.

Steven Alker continued his remarkably consistent form at the Senior Players Championship with a tie for third after being tied for the lead midway through the final round. The commentators love him and were at pains to point out his effort was quite outstanding because it was the first time he had seen the course. This was possibly the reason for his higher than usual nine bogeys over the four rounds.

It was great to see Josh Geary make the cut at the joint sanctioned PGA/DP Barbasol Championship. It was a high scoring event with Geary’s 71,67,70,70 leaving him -10 and 15 shots behind the winner. This was an encouraging foray on the PGA Tour.

On the European Challenge Tour in France Daniel Hillier continued an indifferent run of form missing the cut by a shot despite seven birdies in the two rounds of 73,71. Two double bogeys were the killer. He is now 24th on the Road to Mallorca Rankings, seeking a season end top 25.

Also in Europe on the LETACCESS Ladies Tour Momoka Kobori following her two wins, a 3rd and 7th in her first four events had her first struggle to compete. Finishing a whopping 24 shots adrift of the winner on 13 over par in 35th place has left her in second place on the OOM. Honest as always she said “I left a little to be desired on the course this week . However I will take some learnings from this event into the Women’s Open pre qualifying event at Buckinghamshire Golf Club.” The good news is overnight Kobori with a 73 finished in 8th place to join the 16 who advance to final qualifying on August 1st.

The other solid effort came from another Cantabrian Amelia Garvey who is on the LPGA Epson Tour in a quest for a top 25 at the end of the season and a place on the LPGA Tour. Garvey had an encouraging T11th finish after an indifferent first round 74. A 69 and 70 moved her nicely up the leaderboard. She now sits 32nd on the Race for the Card.