Telfer's Thoughts

New Zealand Open week is traditionally the acme of the golfing year in this country. Expectation a New Zealander would triumph this year was running much higher than normal, given the depth and calibre, as well as the current hot form of many of our leading golfers, two of whom, Josh Geary and Nick Voke, were winners of the two previous tournaments on the Australasian Tour. Also in Queenstown was the in-form Daniel Hiller, fresh off a runner-up finish in the Middle East. Steve Alker, arguably the best senior golfer in the world over the past 2-3 years, pitched up as well. Danny Lee, surprise surprise, made his first appearance at the NZ Open for over a decade. So the chances of a Kiwi winner for the first time in 8 years seemed ever so bright. Alas it wasn’t to be. Our best and brightest, most of whom it should be said did display some excellent golf, in each case didn’t play quite well enough. One or two low rounds out of 4 didn’t cut it here, where the winning score was 23 under par for the 72 holes.

Relatively little-known Australian golfers have made a habit for some years now of coming over here and scooping up our biggest annual golf prize.

And so it was again this year. This time it was Ryan Peake, a 31-year-old West Australian ex-prison mate who spent 5 years in jail for assault while a member of the bikie gang, the Rebels.

Peake hadn’t played in NZ before because of his jailed history which had prevented him, until a week or two back, from getting visa clearance to travel to NZ. His lack of familiarity with the fairways of the two courses at the Millbrook resort clearly counted for little in the end. He played 36 holes on the day before the tournament started, then ripped out four sub-par rounds in the 60’s to win by one stroke. It was an especially nerve-wracking final hole for Peake, who had left his tee shot on this par 3 finishing hole way right off the green and in some light rough. His normally reliable short game

momentarily deserted him and he was left with a three-metre putt he had to make to avoid a 4-way play-off. His nerve held and the sheer joy mixed, one imagines, with a myriad number of emotional memories, good and bad, came charging out of the West Australian. As he said afterwards, “The story is what it is, I’m here just to play golf” and he’ll be playing an awful lot more in years to come, one imagines, and in some pretty exalted company. For starters he’ll play in this year’s Open Championship which comes with winning the NZ Open. He now sits third on the Australasian Order of Merit and his chances of finishing in the top 3 as the season winds down are fairly high which, if

he does, will see him gain full exemption to the DP World Tour for next year.

Unfortunately, none of the much-vaunted Kiwis in the field could finish in the top 10. Best effort came from Daniel Hillier who finished in a tie for 12th spot at 17-under, 6 shots behind Peake.

At exactly the same time as Peake was peaking in Queenstown, Lydia Ko on the lush fairways of the Sentosa Golf Club in Singapore was clocking up her 23rd victory on the USLPGA Tour. Even with 22 wins under her belt prior to this one, her win here appeared very special, judging by her comments in the victory ceremony. It was her first victory in 11 attempts to win this tournament here in Singapore. For all her successes worldwide, very few of them have come in Asia. Her win here in Singapore was also the 10th country where she has recorded a professional victory - remarkable record really.

She won by 4 strokes in the end. A string of three birdies on the front nine gave her a sizeable leadover the rest of the field from that point - the result was really never in much doubt. One of the highlights of her round was a 61-foot birdie putt on the par 3 15 th . It was a two-tiered downhill putt with a double break on the lower tier. Lydia started the long walk to the hole after she had putted. Halfway to the hole she stopped in astonishment as the ball snaked its way into the hole. Her face was one of amazement, then she just burst into laughter. The eccentricities of golf.

Meanwhile in Durban, Kazuma Kobori again defied his status as a rookie on the world’s second biggest golf tour the DP World Tour. At the Durban Country Golf Club, he finished in a tie for 25th place in the South African Open, with a final round 5-under par 67, lifting his season earnings to E79,000, over NZ$130,000 and it’s only the first week of March.

Not so cheery about his latest performance is Ryan Fox who had the misfortune to miss the cut by one stroke in Florida on the latest stop of the USPGA Tour. That’s two missed cuts in a row for Ryan. That’s also, I guess, part of the eccentricities of golf.