Tragic end to golfer's life

By SCOTT MacLEOD

Terry Kendall won fame when, at the age of 21, he beat some of the great names of New Zealand golf to take out a PGA tournament in Mt Maunganui.

But on Friday night, as he sat in a blazing car at a lonely reserve behind Auckland's St Lukes shopping centre, it is unlikely any of the young people at the scene had heard of him.

Kendall was still speaking, just alive, when rescuers pulled him from the car and laid him on a blanket.

He died in Middlemore Hospital.

The 55-year-old's death has shocked the golfing fraternity and mystified police. They started a homicide inquiry, then downgraded the case to being a "suspicious death" - although the head of the investigation said it was too early to rule out homicide entirely.

Mr Kendall was one of the best New Zealand golfers of his era.

His great play on the final hole of the 1969 Mt Maunganui PGA took him to first place ahead of Bob Charles and John Lister.

A year later, aged 22, he blew a likely win in the Tasmanian Open with a string of rash shots.

"Maybe I was too greedy - I tried to get even further ahead," he said.

Mr Kendall made headlines many times with big wins in North America and Asia, gaining a reputation as a great striker of the ball. But he never quite reached his potential.

That was shown by the modest St Lukes apartment in which he lived, one of more than 60 simple units in Wagener Place. It was just 150m from the blaze that killed him.

Grieving friends and relatives were tight-lipped about Mr Kendall yesterday, other than to say he was still working as a golf coach.

Mr Kendall's wife Liz has been staying with friends since the blaze.

A police spokeswoman, Andi Brotherston, said Mr Kendall's car was not registered when it was set ablaze. Mr Kendall had apparently been planning to have it taken away from outside his house. At some stage late last week, he shifted it into the Fergusson Ave Reserve.

At 3pm on Friday, Mr Kendall indicated to someone that he was going off for a "golf-related activity", Ms Brotherston said.

"We don't know what that activity was. It could be he never did that."

Police did not know what Mr Kendall did between 3pm and 10pm, when the fire started.

Ms Brotherston said it was unclear how the fire started. There were no obvious signs of accelerants, although the car burst into flames.

Three or four people were near the vehicle when it caught fire, but it was neighbours who pulled Mr Kendall free. There was speculation among neighbours yesterday that Mr Kendall fell asleep in the car and youngsters set it alight without knowing he was inside.

Detective Senior Sergeant Jim Gallagher said police wanted to hear from anyone who might have seen Mr Kendall or his vehicle between 3pm and 10pm on Friday.

Liz Kendall did not want to speak to the media yesterday.