Telfer's Thoughts

Kiwi golfers weren’t exactly visible on the world’s leading regular golf tours over the past week, although Steve Alker did what Steve Alker does best, as in winning on the US Champions Tour. It was Steve’s 9th win on the Champions Tour, but his first since January of last year. Playing in Tuscon, Arizona, Alker needed a 12-foot putt on the first hole of sudden death to defeat local club pro JasonCaron in the Colorgard Classic.

Of the regular Kiwis, Ryan Fox wasn’t ranked high enough to get into the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Florida. Daniel Hillier was having a week off from the DP World Tour, after having played the NZ Open in Queenstown. Lydia Ko, likewise, was having the week off after her LPGA win in Singapore the week before. That really left it to two of our newbies, Kazuma Kobori Iin South Africa and Fiona Xu in China on the LPGA Tour to carry the Kiwi flag.

Unfortunately, both of them missed the cut which meant they too had the weekend off, which was no doubt welcomed by Kobori as he’s played an awful lot of golf in recent weeks without a break.

However back here at home, the NZPGA Championship was held at the Bridge Pa course on the outskirts of Hastings and here Kiwi colours did indeed fly high. Taking home this title and a cheque for around $35,000 dollars was Tyler Hodge, a 30-year-old New Zealander trying his hand for the second time at a professional career. A self-described journeyman, Hodge turned pro in 2017, but after four tough years with little to show for his efforts, he quit the pro ranks. A couple of years later, in 2023, he gave it a second shot and those tough times have paid off, learning the hard way, what

no coach can teach you, how to grind it out on the mean, unforgiving fairways of tournament golf.

An interesting mixture of prominent names from our pro ranks showed up at Bridge Pa. Tim Wilkinson, trying to get his playing card back for the USPGA Tour, turned up and put together four good rounds, the last three all under 70 to claim 4th place. Josh Geary and Nick Voke, recent winners on the Australian Tour were there too. Adding to the local success at Bridge Pa was the sight of another Kiwi, Kerry Mountcastle, finishing second to Tyler Hodge, making for a 1, 2 Kiwi quinella.

Meanwhile in Hong Kong at the latest stop on the LIV golf circuit, Danny Lee came home in 20th spot and Ben Campbell finished in a tie for 35 th place with Brooks Koepka.

All eyes this coming week will be on the Players Championship in Ponte Vedra, Florida, where virtually all of the world’s top 100 will play in an event now recognised, albeit unofficially, as the men’s 5 th Major.