New Zealand golfers are in action in five different countries this weekend.
Michael Hendry is already out of the blocks in the Fujisankei Classic on the Japan Tour, lying T3 after an opening round of 69. He struggled on the front nine with 19 putts to turn two over, then found his range and rattled home with four birdies to finish on -2, three shots behind leader Min-Gyu Cho of Korea. David Smail is struggling on a tough course and is currently T84 on +5.
PGA Tour China
Josh Munn is the best of the four Kiwis playing this week as the Tour moves into the second part of its season with the Yulongwan Yunnan Open, sitting T27 on -1. Daniel Pearce is T65 on +3, and Mathew Perry and Campbell Rawson are both sitting outside the cut line after the opening round.
EuroPro Tour
Kieran Muir is trying his luck on the EuroPro Tour, a route used with some success in the past by Harry Bateman. As with other Tours of this type, the players put up most of the prize money themselves, so it tends to be a cutthroat affair with pressure all the way. Unfortunately Kieran’s first attempt – the Cobra Puma Championship in Shrewsbury, England – is already over. Rounds of 73 and 68 saw him miss the cut by a single shot last night.
PGA Tour
The second tournament in the FedEx Cup playoffs – the Deutsche Bank Championship at TPC Boston in Maryland – starts a day later this week, with Danny Lee needing a strong performance to make the Top 70 who will advance to the BMW Championship the following week.
Grant Waite and Lydia Ko are both in Canada this week. Lydia is already underway in the Manulife LPGA Classic in Cambridge, Ontario, lying T29 on -2 late in the first round, four back from the current leader.
Grant tees off tonight in the Shaw Charity Classic in Calgary, which is a three round tournament with no cut, carrying nearly $NZ 4.0 million in prize money. A continuation of Grant’s recent form could see him get a healthy share of this.
Ryder Cup
The European team has now been finalised, with Darren Clarke’s Captain’s picks being Thomas Pieters (Belgium), Lee Westwood (England), and Martin Kaymer (Germany). Westwood is playing in his 10th Ryder Cup, and Kaymer will be remembered for sinking the winning putt at Medinah four years ago.
They join the automatic qualifiers: Rory McIlroy, Henrik Stenson, Sergio Garcia, Justin Rose, danny Willett, Chris Wood, Andy Sullivan, Matthew Fitzpatrick and Rafa Cabrera Bello.