Sergio at last!
“High drama at Augusta” seems totally inadequate to describe
the events that unfolded for golf fans today, as the Masters crowned – or
rather green jacketed – another outstanding winner in Sergio Garcia. As always, the day started with plenty of
likely contenders, but it came down to a two horse race between Sergio and
Justin Rose. The Masters is indeed the
gift that keeps on giving….
Back at home, Gareth Paddison has certainly found a
lucrative niche on the local circuit, as he notched up his 2nd
victory in two weeks at Muriwai, handling the links conditions to perfection.
Never, never give up
When you have played in 73 consecutive Majors without a
victory, you would be entitled to think your turn was never going to come. Especially as you stood on the wrong side of
Rae’s Creek on the 13th hole taking a penalty drop and the distinct
possibility of falling three or four shots behind then leader Justin Rose. That was definitely the turning point in the
whole tournament, with Sergio’s miracle par keeping him in the hunt as Rose
failed to convert an excellent birdie opportunity.
Even when Sergio fell one behind again on the 16th
after missing a short birdie putt, he still had to be a chance on the two
tricky finishing holes, although he was helped by Justin missing a couple of
very makeable putts, either of which would have clinched the tournament in
regulation time. However, it was
Sergio’s day, with the memory of what would have been Seve Ballesteros’s 60th
birthday always in the background. Only
Sergio would know if that helped him, or just created extra pressure.
Garcia showed incredible mental toughness from Day 1, when
he was always in or around the lead. His
driving and general ball striking was markedly better than the rest of the
field, even if his putting wasn’t quite at the same level (he had plenty of
company in that regard). He managed to
get them in when it counted though, particularly on 13, 14 and 15 when he
desperately needed each one of them.
Well done Sergio – now that the monkey is off your back, and
with marriage to look forward to, who knows what you will achieve from now on?
Back to back for Paddison
Gareth Paddison became the first golfer to win consecutive
Charles Tour events, with a convincing win in the Autex Muriwai Open over the
weekend. He cruised to a -15 total, and
a five shot victory over Mark Brown, with Christchurch’s Shaun Jones 3rd
on -9 after an expensive four putt on the 17th hole. Josh Geary came 4th after an up
and down display which saw him shoot 64 on Friday to get within 3 of Paddison,
only to stumble with a 77 on Saturday.
Paddison now has a solid lead in two Order of Merit
contests: the Jennian Homes Charles Tour OOM, which concludes with the Carrus
Open at Tauranga next week, and the Mondiale NZ PGA 2017 season OOM, which runs
through to the end of the year. Both
OOMs carry a $5k bonus for the winner, and the Jennian Homes series also
features a handsome trophy with a hologram of Sir Bob Charles in his prime.
The PGA circuit has now moved to Whangarei for the two day
Platinum Homes DVS Pro-Am, with a $25k purse.
Then it’s on to Waitangi on Thursday for the Harcourt’s Waitangi Pro-Am,
playing for $15k in this one day event.
Follow the scores at www.pga.org.nz