Lee finding form
Bay of Plenty golfer Danny Lee's purple patch of form on the Nationwide Tour continues.
Lee secured his third consecutive top 10 finish on the second tier United States circuit, scorching home with a final round of six-under-par 65 to finish alone in third place at the US$600,000 ($754,000) BMW Charity Pro-Am in Carolina.
It took him to 10th in the overall tour standings. The top 25 at season's end qualify direct for the 2012 PGA Tour.
Lee's form hints at something special around the corner. His last five starts have resulted in four top 10 placings, including a tie for second in the multi-sanctioned China Open last month.
The 2009 Johnnie Walker Classic champion started his round today six shots off the pace but quickly made up ground, turning in five-under 30 after five birdies on his front nine.
Two more birdies took him to a share of the lead at 18-under but a bogey at the par-five 16th hole proved costly as he slipped out of a potential three-way playoff with South African Garth Mulroy and South Korea's Sunghoon Kang, who both posted 18-under totals of 268.
Lee had history at the 16th because he triple bogeyed that hole yesterday when he knocked his second shot out of bounds.
"I lost four shots on that hole in two days," Lee said. "It's an easy par-five but somehow that hole makes me really nervous. "
Mulroy went on to win the tournament at the first playoff hole, while Lee's 17-under total of 269 sees him solidify his place inside the Nationwide Tour's top 25. The 20-year-old was 23rd heading into the tournament but a US$40,800 pay cheque for his work this week has seen him bolt up to 10th with earnings of US$84,336 from five tournaments this year.
Papamoa's Brad Iles dropped 14 places to a share of 38th after an even par 71 left him at 10-under.
Leading scores:
268 - Garth Mulroy (South Africa) 65 66 70 67*, Sunghoon Kang (South Korea) 67 63 69 69
269 - DANNY LEE (NZ) 68 66 70 65
270 - Roberto Castro 65 71 69 65, BJ Slaten 68 72 66 64, Andrew Buckle (Australia) 74 68 63 65, Will MacKenzie 64 69 71 66, Brent Delahoussaye 70 67 64
Also:
276 - BRAD ILES (NZ) 69 68 68 71
278 - TIM WILKINSON (NZ) 70 67 69 72
Top finish
Johann Roozenburg has kick started his European kayaking campaign by finishing sixth overall in the Pyrenees Cup.
The two race series was held in Seu (Spain) and Pau (France), with Tauranga's Roozenburg kayaking the semifinals in Seu and only missing the finals by 0.13secs for a final placing of 14th.
The second race in Pau, which doubled as a French selection race, saw him finish 22nd.
Roozenburg has teamed up with Tauranga C1 specialist Brent Bastin, with the pair travelling together, building up to the World Cup circuit and the world championships in September.
They'll make their in Vigevano, near Milan, to contest as many races as possible, which carry ranking points towards qualification for the London Olympics.
Fellow Kiwi paddlers Aaron Osborne and Mike Dawson will also join Roozenburg in Europe, with Dawson first competing at next week's Teva Mountain Games in Colorado.
Blues unbeaten
Old Blues stayed at the top of the Waikato-Bay of Plenty Federation football league, extending their unbeaten run to seven with a 4-2 win over Otorohanga.
Otumoetai had a 5-0 win over Te Puke and Claudelands Rovers defeated Ngaruawahia 2-0 to stay in second and third respectively.
Old Blues coach Any Legget described the win as ugly. "We never got into our stride but Otorohanga, who gave us no time on the ball, can take credit for that."
Old Blues led 1-0 at the break through a Dan Benson goal and when Jack McNab doubled their lead early in the second half the home supporters' expectations were that Old Blues would take control.
However Otorohanga continued to be competitive and their never say die attitude was rewarded with a goal. McNab scored his second to restore Old Blues two goal lead but the visitors scored again to make it 3-2 before Bob Barnes scored to make the game safe for Old Blues.
Playing on the No1 pitch at Fergusson Park for the first time this season, Otumoetai went ahead against bottom of the table Te Puke after five minutes when Darren Ward created the opportunity for Matt Collins to finish. Collins scored his second early in the second half, and with goals to Darren Ward, Matthew Fisher and Daniel Miller, the final 5-0 scoreline was a fair reflection.
The standard of football being played is far below what this United squad is capable of.
There is a core of experience and some talented youngsters but at present they seem bereft of any football nous. Their opponents on Saturday, Melville were no better. They managed to score the only goal in the 10th minute, but from there on, the game resembled ping pong as each team seemed intent on giving possession away.
At Rex Morpeth Park Whakatane Town broke their four game losing streak with a 3-0 win over Taupo while Tauranga Boys' College recorded their second win with a 3-1 away win over AFC Fury.
In division two, Ngongotaha beat Katikati 4-2 to move into second, Rotorua United reserves lost 3-0 to Waikato Unicol, Matamata beat West Hamilton 4-3, while Cambridge stay on the bottom after a 2-0 loss to Te Awamutu.
Fun victory
Putting the enjoyment back into their season has paid off immediately for Otumoetai in the Intercity men's premier hockey competition, with the side scoring their first win of the season on Saturday, 5-2 against Kohekohe.
Bayleys Otumoetai played with both intensity and enjoyment.
Aaron McNabb opened the scoring for Otumoetai and Stu Sutherland added another after receiving a strong through ball from Ben Wilson.
After the interval McNabb impressed with a fine solo goal, then Mark Page rifled a high shot into the top corner of the cage to take the Otumoetai's lead out to 4-0. Kohekohe pegged a couple back before young Scott Richardson finished with a nice goal to take the final score to 5-2.
Otumoetai defender Hugh Gilmer took a nasty blow to the eyebrow early in the match but returned to the fray after getting it patched up.
Competition leaders CMS Mt Maunganui were brought down to earth by a fluent and skillful Rotorua Aces in Tauranga. Aces could have been three goals ahead in the first 10 minutes if their shooting had been better directed.
Leo Wells found the net with one of the shots then Mount regained some control and scored twice to take the lead. But it was not to last as Aces captain Stephen Te Moni latched on to a ball on the half-volley and gave Mount goalie Hamish McGregor no chance.
Two minutes later Wells rocketed in a superb backhand goal after a fast breakaway, taking Aces to the half-time break 3-2 ahead. The first 15 minutes of the second stanza was all Aces, as they maintained the pace with quick running and fluid passing however they could not add to their tally, before Mt Maunganui was awarded a penalty stroke which Brad Bellamy converted to draw the teams level.
Tatai Dewes replied with a spectacular goal for the visitors and Tenga Rangitauira added the icing on the cake in the last minute, tipping in from a well-worked Aces penalty corner.
Oumoetai women have solidified their grip on the premier women's competition with two wins over the weekend - 5-0 against Hamilton Old Girls on Saturday and 1-0 in a Friday night catch-up game against Fraser Tech.
After a pacey first half against Old Girls with both teams having scoring chances, it was a penalty corner drive from Otumoetai's Katrina Carson that was the only score at the break.
Starting the second spell with higher intensity, the pressure paid off for Otumoetai with three field goals and another penalty corner blast taking the score out to a comfortable 5-0 win. Carson's hat-trick showed how important she is to the competition leaders' success, while Dani Maunder showed why composure in the circle gets reward with a well-finished goal.
Intercity scores:
Premier men:
Otumoetai 5 (Aaron McNabb 2, Stu Sutherland, Mark Page, Scott Richardson) Kohekohe 2 (Pradip Dahya, Gerry Mekkelholt) HT 2-0.
Rotorua Aces 5 (Leo Wells 2, Stephen Te Moni, Tatai Dewes, Tenga Rangitauira) Mt Maunganui 3 (Garth Moran, Sam Greenhill, Brad Bellamy) HT 3-2.
Waikato University 2 (Cam Hayde 2) Fraser Tech 2 (Jim Lineham, Tim Sieffert), HT 1-1.
Pukekohe Indians 3 Onewhero 2, HT 2-2.
Thames Valley 4 Hamilton OB 1, HT 2-0.
Rotorua Indians 5 Suburbs-Piako 4, HT 3-2.
Premier women:
Otumoetai 5 (Katrina Carson 3, Dani Maunder, Raylene Miller) Hamilton Old Girls 0, HT 1-0.
Waikato University 4 Rotorua Aces 0.
Fraser Tech 6 Taupo 0, HT 4-0.
Onewhero 3 Te Awamutu 2, HT 2-0.
Friday: Otumoetai 1 Fraser Tech 0, HT 0-0.
Teen triumphant
Tauranga's Kyle MacDonald and Angus Bell have grabbed top-five finishes at the Huntly half marathon but both had to bow to talented Waikato teen Aaron Pulford, who won for the second year in a career-best time of 1h 6m 6s.
Pulford joins John Walker in 1982 and 1983 and Scott Winton 2002 and 2003 as a consecutive winner of the popular 21.1km event. Midway into the race, only two were in contention, Pulford and Stephen Lett. On the hill section Pulford put in a surge and broke clear of Lett and despite suffering from stitch held on for victory. Lett recorded 1h 6m 40s with MacDonald third in 1h 8m 19s, 35sec ahead of Bell.
Pulford will now concentrate on some track training sessions in preparation for a five-week racing circuit in Europe.
Men's details:
Aaron Pulford (Ham) 1h 6m 6s 1, Stephen Lett (Tak) 1h 6m 40s 2, Kyle MacDonald (Tauranga) 1h 8m 19s 3, Jonathan Jackson (ACA) 1h 8m 29s 4, Angus Bell (ACA) 1h 8m 51s 5, Phil Murray (Ham) 1h 11m 41s 6.
City exposed
Tauranga City United had their first loss of the season away to Warkworth in the Northern League's second division.
CNS Clinic-sponsored Tauranga were the only unbeaten side in the league heading to Warkworth - their longest road trip of the season - after Western Springs scored the shock of the season on Friday with a fightback 2-1 win over runaway league leaders Mt Albert Ponsonby.
But Tauranga failed to take advantage of their unbeaten status, despite taking a 1-0 lead through Joal Wakelin midway through the game.
Second half goals from Vineet Kumar and Steve May gave Warkworth the win, droppng Tauranga to fifth in the standings, with only the top two at the completion of round-robin promoted to division one.
In other results, Papakura lost 3-1 to Fencibles United, who have now closed to within three points of Mt Albert, while Mangere United were 3-0 winners over Waiuku. Hibiscus Coast heaped more misery on Cambridge 3-1 while North Shore and Ngaruawahia played out a 2-2 draw in the Sunday game.
Tauranga return to Mt Maunganui's Links Ave on Saturday to take on North Shore.
Northern second division details:
Mt Albert Ponsonby 1 (Dean Delaney) Western Springs 2 (Cory Pearce, Warwick Smit). HT: 1-0.
Mangere United 3 (Leaveil Titus, Kritesh Bala, Shiraz Ali) Waiuku 0. HT: 1-0.
Cambridge 1 (Trent Frampton) Hibiscus Coast 3 (Rafi Mohammadi 3). HT: 0-1.
Papakura City 1 (Ross Berry) Fencibles 3 (Martin Pike 3). HT: 0-2.
Warkworth 2 Tauranga City 1 (Joel Wakelin). HT: 0-0.
North Shore 2 (Matt Evitt, Ben Wall) Ngaruawahia 2 (Nathan Holten, Rory Kerr-Bell).
Points:
1. Mt Albert Pon8611311219
2. Fencibles751118616
3. Mangere Utd741218713
4. Hibiscus C7412151113
5. Tauranga C733113912
6. Nth Shore7322191010
7. Waiuku823315229
8. Warkworth823312199
9. Ngaruawahia621315126
10. Papakura C712410165
11. West Springs71245165
12. Cambridge70077380
Victory slips away
Ring-rust from several weeks' inactivity has seen the Otumoetai Eels come up short in their top-of-the-table WaiCoa Bays' club rugby league premier clash away against Ngaruawahia on Saturday.
Coming off a bye and a deferred game, Ngaruawahia squeezed past the Eels 26-18 in the competition's 10th round, outscoring the visitors five tries to four.
Otumoetai scored three tries to Keepa Smallman, Mikaere October and Owen Rhind in a first half that was deadlocked 14-14, with Rhind's second half try all the Eels could muster.
Ngaruawahia's win kept them at the top, with Taniwharau and Hamilton City Tigers, rounding out the top three.
Taniwharau edged Central 30-28 while Tigers thumped Ngongotaha 38-0. Tauranga Whalers' surge continued with a 24-16 win over Hamilton Hornets, with Pikiao too strong for Pacific 42-26 and Taupo Phoenix thrashing Waikato's College Old Boys 72-22.
Matakana loses
Arataki have handed Matakana Island their first loss of the Seeka KI Western Bay club rugby season, winning 8-5 on Saturday after 80 minutes of hard graft.
Arataki have also relieved Matakana Island of the Hardy Rosebowl (Western Bay Challenge trophy) that the Island team have held since early April.
Mt Maunganui are the major beneficiary of the Matakana loss, moving to the top of the table with a 39-21 defeat of Eastern Districts at Paengaroa Domain.
Rangiuru beat Te Puke Sports 13-12, Katikati edged Papamoa 26-24 while Tauranga Sports thrashed Greerton Marist 74-20.
Seeka KI Western Bay points: Mount Maunganui 40, Matakana Island 39, Arataki 34, Katikati 30, Tauranga Sports 27, Papamoa 25, Judea 21, Te Puke Sports 20, Eastern Districts 13, Greerton Marist 11, Rangiuru 9.
Ten Minute Sport - Fun victory for Otumoetai
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.