Open the Gates! Rookie Robert leads NZ Open
FROM STUFF.CO.NZ WEBSITE
By MARTIN DAVIDSON
American Robert Gates holds a one-stroke lead over Australian Andrew Dodt after shooting a five-under 67 in the second round of the New Zealand Open at The Hills, Queenstown on South Island.
The 24-year-old rookie remained atop the leaderboard after the second round of the $US600,000 Nationwide Tour event in idyllic conditions after following up his sterling opening effort of 65.
The tall Texan has delivered an emphatic statement at the midway point of his first appearance as a member of the second tier circuit in the United States.
Due to his greenness, Gates thinks it only natural that nerves will play a role over the weekend but it is an anxiety he welcomes.
"It is an opportunity to learn how to manage that. I'll learn to do the best I can each day."
At his side this week has been Lauren Johnson, his caddie and girlfriend who works as an instructor at Massengale Golf Academy outside of Houston.
She has played her part, too, offering a quiet word here or there whenever Gates has wanted help to read a putt on the 6610m, par-72 championship lay-out which was bathed in fierce sunshine throughout today although a cooling southerly breeze arrived in the middle of the afternoon to at least offer the galleries some respite.
Their partnership has worked a treat as Gates held his rivals at bay, with Australian Andrew Dodt tucked in one shot back on 133 after posting 68, although fellow-first round leader David Smail, of New Zealand, lost ground in a big way after turning in a 74, a swing of nine shots on his performance a day earlier.
American D J Brigman, 66, was alone in third on 135, one ahead of compatriots Kevin Chappell, 66, and Darron Stiles, winner of the 2008 New Zealand PGA Championship, who managed 69.
New Zealand's Phil Tataurangi moved in the right direction, a 68 thrusting him from 22nd equal to a tie for sixth on 137 with seven others - American Martin Piller, 66, the runnerup here last year, Canadian Jon Mills, 69, and Australians Ryan Haller, 70, Jarrod Lyle, 68, Michael Curtain, 68, Matthew Griffin, 67, and Scott Gardiner, 67.
Tataurangi undertook a minor advisory role in developing jeweller Michael Hill's private course, which opened in 2007, and could not envisage the course being more vulnerable to low scoring.
"This golf course can't play any easier," he said after pocketing five birdies before coughing up a stroke back at the final hole.
Bay of Plenty's Brad Iles and Josh Geary also aided their cause, posting 67 and 69, respectively, to sit 14th equal on six-under 138.
The second round cut was made at two-under 142, leaving Wellington left-hander Gareth Paddison to play the weekend as well after he squeaked in right on the number after shooting 70, while he will be joined by American Jason Gore.
Gore also finished on 142 when he birdied the last after mailing an approach from thick rough to within tap-in range at the tough 18th hole to end with 72.
Included among those to have the weekend off are experienced New Zealanders Grant Waite, Steve Alker and 2003 champion Mahal Pearce, while Australian notables Peter Lonard, Peter Senior and Craig Parry can all arrange early flights home.
Gates' progress here has been quite remarkable for a young man with just one season on the low-key Canadian Tour behind him.
He has been unable to mask the enjoyment factor, either, as things continued to fall his way after a round containing six birdies and one bogey.
"I am excited to have put myself into a position to have a great weekend," Gates said.
"I have been hitting a lot of great shots and sunk some good putts today.
"I had a couple of bad iron shots but still managed to get up and down. I'm really excited and learning as I go."
Gates' round began at the par-three 10th and he made the turn at three-under with birdies at the 12th, 13th and 18th, the last of them after he sent a six iron from 180m to within 10 feet of the flag.
More followed at the first and seventh, but he let one slip by when missing from 10 feet on the eighth before nailing his last of the day on the ninth from 28 feet.
SECOND ROUND TOTALS
Par 144 (2x72)
132 Robert Gates 65 67
133 Andrew Dodt 65 68
135 D.J. Brigman 66 69
136 Kevin Chappell 70 66, Darron Stiles 67 69
137 Michael Curtain 69 68, Scott Gardiner 70 67, Matthew Griffin 67 70, Ryan Haller 67 70, Jarrod Lyle 69 68, Jon Mills 68 69, Martin Piller 71 66, Phil Tataurangi 69 68
138 Jeff Gallagher 69 69, Josh Geary 69 69, Justin Hicks 69 69, Bradley Iles 71 67, Barrett Jarosch 69 69, Kevin Kisner 69 69, Dave Schultz 67 71, Aaron Watkins 71 67, Michael Wright 67 71
139 Andrew Buckle 67 72, Kelly Grunewald 68 71, Jamie Lovemark 70 69, Peter O'Malley 70 69, Tag Ridings 69 70, David Smail 65 74, Kyle Stanley 70 69
140 Keegan Bradley 69 71, Jeff Brehaut 69 71, Jay Delsing 70 70, Scott Dunlap 70 70, Rob Oppenheim 72 68, Terry Pilkadaris 70 70, Michael Sims 72 68, Brian Smock 69 71
141 Ryan Armour 72 69, Andrew Bonhomme 66 75, Ted Brown 71 70, Stephen Dartnall 69 72, Paul Gow 70 71, James Hahn 75 66, Mark Hensby 71 70, Matt Jager 68 73, Chris Kirk 68 73, Andrew Martin 71 70, Alistair Presnell 70 71, Scott Stallings 72 69, Casey Wittenberg 72 69
142 Joe Affrunti 69 73, Mark Anderson 74 68, Adam Bland 69 73, Jim Carter 72 70, Gavin Coles 72 70, Adam Crawford 68 74, Jess Daley 71 71, Bryan DeCorso 71 71, Nick Flanagan 67 75, Jason Gore 70 72, Ashley Hall 72 70, Won Joon Lee 68 74, Jason Norris 73 69, Gareth Paddison 72 70, Jin S. Park 69 73, Brendan Steele 72 70, Andrew Tschudin 71 71
MISSED THE CUT
143 Steve Allan 71 72, Scott Brown 72 71, Mitchell Brown 69 74, Tony Carolan 75 68, Bubba Dickerson 74 69, Ken Duke 72 71, Brad Kennedy 70 73, Scott Laycock 69 74, Richard Lee 72 71, Matthew Millar 70 73, Trevor Murphy 69 74, Craig Parry 72 71, Craig Scott 71 72, Daniel Summerhays 67 76
144 Adam Blyth 72 72, Miguel Carballo 76 68, Ty Harris 75 69, David Hearn 71 73, Jim Herman 74 70, Luke List 73 71, Bob May 74 70, Leigh McKechnie 71 73, David McKenzie 70 74, Mahal Pearce 71 73, Nathan Smith 71 73, Tim Wood 69 75
145 Kurt Barnes 75 70, Dan Buchner 74 71, David Diaz 74 71, Fabian Gomez 73 72, Bob Heintz 72 73, J.J. Killeen 72 73, Bronson LaCassie 68 77, Stephen Leaney 68 77, Peter Lonard 71 74, Mark Purser 72 73, Peter Spearman Bum 72 73, Anthony Summers 72 73, Grant Waite 70 75
146 Jamie Arnold 75 71, Gary Christian 72 74, Scott Gutschewski 74 72, Michael Long 75 71, Ewan Porter 73 73, Heath Reed 71 75, Clint Rice 69 77, Peter Senior 75 71, Gary Simpson 72 74, Andrew Svoboda 73 73, Julien Trudeau 74 72, Manuel Villegas 71 75
147 Steve Alker 70 77, Doug Batty 71 76, Matthew Borchert 75 72, Stuart Bouvier 72 75, Michael Brennan 72 75, Marcus Cain 73 74, Kim Felton 71 76, Tommy Gainey 73 74, Chris Gaunt 75 72, Michael Hendry 73 74, Bobby MacWhinnie 70 77, Paul Marantz 76 71, Brady Schnell 74 73
148 Henry Epstein 74 74, Craig Kanada 78 70, Skip Kendall 74 74, Doug LaBelle II 78 70, Patrick Sheehan 71 77, Paul Sheehan 69 79, Andrew Stewart 73 75, Aaron Townsend 76 72, Peter Wilson 74 74
149 Gary Hill 72 77, Andre Stolz 74 75
150 Scott Arnold 72 78, Anthony Brown 76 74, John Douma 74 76, Stephen Poole 76 74, Tom Prowse 80 70, Ed Stedman 72 78
152 Ryan Hietala 74 78, Terry Price 77 75, Brendon Todd 76 76
154 Paul Spargo 76 78
157 Brian Vranesh 75 82
FROM STUFF.CO.NZ WEBSITE
By MARTIN DAVIDSON
American Robert Gates holds a one-stroke lead over Australian Andrew Dodt after shooting a five-under 67 in the second round of the New Zealand Open at The Hills, Queenstown on South Island.
The 24-year-old rookie remained atop the leaderboard after the second round of the $US600,000 Nationwide Tour event in idyllic conditions after following up his sterling opening effort of 65.
The tall Texan has delivered an emphatic statement at the midway point of his first appearance as a member of the second tier circuit in the United States.
Due to his greenness, Gates thinks it only natural that nerves will play a role over the weekend but it is an anxiety he welcomes.
"It is an opportunity to learn how to manage that. I'll learn to do the best I can each day."
At his side this week has been Lauren Johnson, his caddie and girlfriend who works as an instructor at Massengale Golf Academy outside of Houston.
She has played her part, too, offering a quiet word here or there whenever Gates has wanted help to read a putt on the 6610m, par-72 championship lay-out which was bathed in fierce sunshine throughout today although a cooling southerly breeze arrived in the middle of the afternoon to at least offer the galleries some respite.
Their partnership has worked a treat as Gates held his rivals at bay, with Australian Andrew Dodt tucked in one shot back on 133 after posting 68, although fellow-first round leader David Smail, of New Zealand, lost ground in a big way after turning in a 74, a swing of nine shots on his performance a day earlier.
American D J Brigman, 66, was alone in third on 135, one ahead of compatriots Kevin Chappell, 66, and Darron Stiles, winner of the 2008 New Zealand PGA Championship, who managed 69.
New Zealand's Phil Tataurangi moved in the right direction, a 68 thrusting him from 22nd equal to a tie for sixth on 137 with seven others - American Martin Piller, 66, the runnerup here last year, Canadian Jon Mills, 69, and Australians Ryan Haller, 70, Jarrod Lyle, 68, Michael Curtain, 68, Matthew Griffin, 67, and Scott Gardiner, 67.
Tataurangi undertook a minor advisory role in developing jeweller Michael Hill's private course, which opened in 2007, and could not envisage the course being more vulnerable to low scoring.
"This golf course can't play any easier," he said after pocketing five birdies before coughing up a stroke back at the final hole.
Bay of Plenty's Brad Iles and Josh Geary also aided their cause, posting 67 and 69, respectively, to sit 14th equal on six-under 138.
The second round cut was made at two-under 142, leaving Wellington left-hander Gareth Paddison to play the weekend as well after he squeaked in right on the number after shooting 70, while he will be joined by American Jason Gore.
Gore also finished on 142 when he birdied the last after mailing an approach from thick rough to within tap-in range at the tough 18th hole to end with 72.
Included among those to have the weekend off are experienced New Zealanders Grant Waite, Steve Alker and 2003 champion Mahal Pearce, while Australian notables Peter Lonard, Peter Senior and Craig Parry can all arrange early flights home.
Gates' progress here has been quite remarkable for a young man with just one season on the low-key Canadian Tour behind him.
He has been unable to mask the enjoyment factor, either, as things continued to fall his way after a round containing six birdies and one bogey.
"I am excited to have put myself into a position to have a great weekend," Gates said.
"I have been hitting a lot of great shots and sunk some good putts today.
"I had a couple of bad iron shots but still managed to get up and down. I'm really excited and learning as I go."
Gates' round began at the par-three 10th and he made the turn at three-under with birdies at the 12th, 13th and 18th, the last of them after he sent a six iron from 180m to within 10 feet of the flag.
More followed at the first and seventh, but he let one slip by when missing from 10 feet on the eighth before nailing his last of the day on the ninth from 28 feet.
SECOND ROUND TOTALS
Par 144 (2x72)
132 Robert Gates 65 67
133 Andrew Dodt 65 68
135 D.J. Brigman 66 69
136 Kevin Chappell 70 66, Darron Stiles 67 69
137 Michael Curtain 69 68, Scott Gardiner 70 67, Matthew Griffin 67 70, Ryan Haller 67 70, Jarrod Lyle 69 68, Jon Mills 68 69, Martin Piller 71 66, Phil Tataurangi 69 68
138 Jeff Gallagher 69 69, Josh Geary 69 69, Justin Hicks 69 69, Bradley Iles 71 67, Barrett Jarosch 69 69, Kevin Kisner 69 69, Dave Schultz 67 71, Aaron Watkins 71 67, Michael Wright 67 71
139 Andrew Buckle 67 72, Kelly Grunewald 68 71, Jamie Lovemark 70 69, Peter O'Malley 70 69, Tag Ridings 69 70, David Smail 65 74, Kyle Stanley 70 69
140 Keegan Bradley 69 71, Jeff Brehaut 69 71, Jay Delsing 70 70, Scott Dunlap 70 70, Rob Oppenheim 72 68, Terry Pilkadaris 70 70, Michael Sims 72 68, Brian Smock 69 71
141 Ryan Armour 72 69, Andrew Bonhomme 66 75, Ted Brown 71 70, Stephen Dartnall 69 72, Paul Gow 70 71, James Hahn 75 66, Mark Hensby 71 70, Matt Jager 68 73, Chris Kirk 68 73, Andrew Martin 71 70, Alistair Presnell 70 71, Scott Stallings 72 69, Casey Wittenberg 72 69
142 Joe Affrunti 69 73, Mark Anderson 74 68, Adam Bland 69 73, Jim Carter 72 70, Gavin Coles 72 70, Adam Crawford 68 74, Jess Daley 71 71, Bryan DeCorso 71 71, Nick Flanagan 67 75, Jason Gore 70 72, Ashley Hall 72 70, Won Joon Lee 68 74, Jason Norris 73 69, Gareth Paddison 72 70, Jin S. Park 69 73, Brendan Steele 72 70, Andrew Tschudin 71 71
MISSED THE CUT
143 Steve Allan 71 72, Scott Brown 72 71, Mitchell Brown 69 74, Tony Carolan 75 68, Bubba Dickerson 74 69, Ken Duke 72 71, Brad Kennedy 70 73, Scott Laycock 69 74, Richard Lee 72 71, Matthew Millar 70 73, Trevor Murphy 69 74, Craig Parry 72 71, Craig Scott 71 72, Daniel Summerhays 67 76
144 Adam Blyth 72 72, Miguel Carballo 76 68, Ty Harris 75 69, David Hearn 71 73, Jim Herman 74 70, Luke List 73 71, Bob May 74 70, Leigh McKechnie 71 73, David McKenzie 70 74, Mahal Pearce 71 73, Nathan Smith 71 73, Tim Wood 69 75
145 Kurt Barnes 75 70, Dan Buchner 74 71, David Diaz 74 71, Fabian Gomez 73 72, Bob Heintz 72 73, J.J. Killeen 72 73, Bronson LaCassie 68 77, Stephen Leaney 68 77, Peter Lonard 71 74, Mark Purser 72 73, Peter Spearman Bum 72 73, Anthony Summers 72 73, Grant Waite 70 75
146 Jamie Arnold 75 71, Gary Christian 72 74, Scott Gutschewski 74 72, Michael Long 75 71, Ewan Porter 73 73, Heath Reed 71 75, Clint Rice 69 77, Peter Senior 75 71, Gary Simpson 72 74, Andrew Svoboda 73 73, Julien Trudeau 74 72, Manuel Villegas 71 75
147 Steve Alker 70 77, Doug Batty 71 76, Matthew Borchert 75 72, Stuart Bouvier 72 75, Michael Brennan 72 75, Marcus Cain 73 74, Kim Felton 71 76, Tommy Gainey 73 74, Chris Gaunt 75 72, Michael Hendry 73 74, Bobby MacWhinnie 70 77, Paul Marantz 76 71, Brady Schnell 74 73
148 Henry Epstein 74 74, Craig Kanada 78 70, Skip Kendall 74 74, Doug LaBelle II 78 70, Patrick Sheehan 71 77, Paul Sheehan 69 79, Andrew Stewart 73 75, Aaron Townsend 76 72, Peter Wilson 74 74
149 Gary Hill 72 77, Andre Stolz 74 75
150 Scott Arnold 72 78, Anthony Brown 76 74, John Douma 74 76, Stephen Poole 76 74, Tom Prowse 80 70, Ed Stedman 72 78
152 Ryan Hietala 74 78, Terry Price 77 75, Brendon Todd 76 76
154 Paul Spargo 76 78
157 Brian Vranesh 75 82
Labels: NATIONWIDE TOUR
posted by Colin |
See story on its own page | Friday, January 29, 2010
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