Josh Geary survives high winds to win Victoria Open

By Paul Gueorgieff, editor Golfer Pacific

Josh Geary shot a six over par 78 in the final round of the Victoria Open.

That would almost always be a score that would rule any player out of victory in a professional golf tournament.

But that was not the case at 13th Beach golf course in Geelong last month with Geary of New Zealand still able to win by four shots.

Weather conditions for the final day’s play, especially later in the day, were horrendous with winds gusting up to 70 kilometres per hour. Players had to constantly replace their golf balls on the green because the wind was blowing them off their spots.

Caption: Josh Geary holds aloft the trophy after winning the Victoria Open in Geelong last month. Photo credit: PGA Tour of Australasia.

The average score on the final day for the men was 76.5 and Geary would have been thankful that he went into the last day’s play with a four-shot lead which ended up being his winning margin.

The course was barely playable with club selection nigh impossible and despite the protest of players it was determined by officials that play should continue. It took the leading group of players three hours and 20 minutes to play the first nine holes on the final day because of the constant delays.

Geary said he had not encountered anything like it before.

“It's the hardest round of golf I've had to play,” Geary said.

“It's hard enough trying to close out a tournament, let alone in those conditions which meant literally you can make any score from anywhere.

“If you’d asked me (the day before) if I shot 78 tomorrow, if I’d still have a four-shot margin, I’d tell you you're dreaming, but that's just how hard it was.

“I'm super happy, obviously, and stoked to get it done.”

The win was Geary’s second on the PGA Tour of Australasia but 12 years since his first which came in the 2013 Western Australia Open.

Geary, 40, has many wins to his name.

Along with his two Australasian Tour wins, the Tauranga-based Invercargill-born golfer has 10 wins on New Zealand’s Charles Tour, four wins on the China Tour and one win on the Canadian Tour.

The Victoria Open carried a purse of $A200,000 with Geary earning $A36,000. That’s nearly $NZ40,000.

Caption: Josh Geary who survived horrendous wind conditions to the win the Victoria Open in Geelong last month. Photo credit: PGA Tour of Australasia

Only three men shot under-par rounds on the Sunday – two-under-par 70s from West Australian Connor McKinney, New Zealand’s Kerry Mountcastle, who took equal third, and local favourite Ben Eccles, who soared to a share of ninth.

Former Vic Open champion Michael Hendry (74 in round four) and New South Wales’ Austin Bautista (79) also had a share of third.

In the women’s division of the Victoria Open, victory went to Su Oh of Melbourne.

Oh came from behind with a two over par 74 to claim her home state women’s title by a one stroke.

It was Oh’s third win on the WPGA Tour of Australasia.

Seven shots back and tied-10th at the start of the day, the 28-year-old Oh vaulted up the leaderboard and by the time she tapped in for par at the 18th, she had moved up to tied-second.

She was three shots behind Japan’s Shina Kanazawa, at even-par overall, it was 4.30pm and an excruciating two-hour wait was to come as Kanazawa and her compatriot Madoka Kimura negotiated the winds.

Because of conditions, Oh knew that she had a chance.

Japanese Tour star Kanazawa was worn down by the howling winds and made bogey at the 14th from long and left of the green, the 15th from the fairway bunker, the 16th from short of the green and the 17th with a three-putt down the hill.

Suddenly Oh had the lead as she tried to stay warm on the driving range.

Kanazawa and Kimura were at one over par and needed birdie at the par five18th for a playoff, but when they both missed the green with their wedge shots and could not chip in, it was the Australian’s title.

Oh’s rounds of 70, 76, 69, 74 put her ahead of Kanazawa by a shot at one over with Kimura third at two over. Neither of the Japanese pair could break 80 but they were scarcely alone.

Over on the practice putting green 100 metres away, Oh embraced her sister Olivia and parents SG and Sukja.

Oh, who won the same prize money as Geary, said: “I knew if I played decent I was going to get close, but I didn’t think I would actually win.

“I’ve always been close (to winning) here, and everyone who’s won has been pretty good, so hopefully I’ll follow that trajectory and have a good year.”