GOLF - Hip, hip hooray for pairs players

Alan Benseman, right, putts during the Hikurangi Golf Club's annual 54-hole men's pairs tournament on Saturday.
A strong wind made conditions on the course slightly more challenging for the 64 players competing for the main prize in the 17th running of the event. Max McKenzie and Lou Lowe didn't win but it was their performance - after both had hip replacements in the last few months - that really drew the applause in the clubhouse. The pair finished in sixth place with a combined score of 422.
Grant Ferris and Vic Holmes finished the two-day tournament with a combined nett total of 412, earning themselves two return tickets to anywhere in the country plus $200 spending money, thanks to Stephen Gillingham House of travel and Air New Zealand.
They pipped Adam and Ian Billington, a point back at 413, for the title. George Jones and Mark Allen won the gross competition with a score of 468.