Open shot fires up Geary

By the time the taxman took his whack and his food and accommodation bill for the week was totted up, there wasn't a whole lot left for Josh Geary to savour from the biggest payday of his fledgling professional career.
The tax bill was unavoidable, with almost half of the $25,000 Geary won for finishing tied for 12th at the New Zealand Open at The Hills 10 days ago taken by the Government.
But he considers the A$1500 cheque he handed back to the organisers right after the tournament in Queenstown as the best money he's spent all year.
Geary forked out the cash to join the Australasian PGA and found out at the weekend his position on the Order of Merit _ 43rd _ was good enough to get him an automatic start in tomorrow's A$1.65 million ($1.87m) Australian Open in Sydney.
Instead of flying back to the United States, where he'll base himself until late January, he left for Sydney on Monday, determined to cash in on the form that propelled him to leading New Zealander at The Hills.
"That finish at the NZ Open has opened a few doors for sure, and with that good cheque I jumped to 36th on the (Australasian) Order of Merit (dropping to 43rd after the weekend's Australian PGA).
"I got conditional status on the Australasian tour at qualifying school last year, but never took it up because I had no intention of playing there.
"That $1500 gives me conditional membership. It was a lot of money to part with, but the benefits if I can stay in the top 60 this season are quite substantial, so it's worth it.
"If I make the cut this week, it should entitle me to starts at the New Zealand and Aussie PGA, both Opens and the Aussie Masters."
Geary was ecstatic with his 12th placing at The Hills, with his prizemoney easily eclipsing his previous biggest pay cheque on the Canadian Tour this year of $NZ10,500.
Rounds of 75 67 70 and 70 left him at six-under in the $1.5m European and Australasian co-sanctioned event, with the Bay of Plenty 23-year-old touring professional buoyed by his sub-par finish.
"I played alright in that first round too but the mid part of the round I dropped four shots in the wind and a lot of putts on the slower grain greens lipped out," said Geary, who had to come through the fire of pre-qualifying at Millbrook to make the Open field.
Canada remains his focus next year but Geary plans to return to New Zealand in February to play the Pro-am mini-tour and hopes to be able to skip qualifying for the NZ PGA at Clearwater.
"The season in Canada finishes in September so to be part of the Australasian PGA gives me afull schedule of events, which is exactly what I need at this stage of my career.
"You see pros scratching their heads with no established tour to play on and nothing really lined up, so having tournaments in both hemispheres to play is huge for my development."
Geary has his clubs fitted by Titleist and has been picked up by sports apparel supplier Puma but is still largely self-funding his pro dream, without the formal backing someone like Brad Iles enjoys.
"It's hand-to-mouth stuff, so that money I won at The Hills is a big help, ensuring I finish at break even or slightly ahead for the year."
The Australian Open has attracted stars Aaron Baddeley, former US Open winner Geoff Ogilvy and American Brandt Snedeker, the PGA Tour's rookie of the year.
It will be Geary's biggest tournament and he plans to pick the brains of Mount Maunganui-based caddy Anthony Knight, in Sydney this week on Baddeley's bag, for a lowdown on the layout.
"Antman knows the course inside out so he should be a good source of knowledge, and I've got Tony Hoyer, an Australian guy who was a member at the Mount, driving down the coast to caddy for me."
Geary will be intrigued to experience first-hand the notorious "party hole", with tournament organisers installing a bar at the par-three 11th hole.