Golf: Geary flies home with birdies and brilliant eagle

Hometown golfer Josh Geary equalled his own tournament record to claim the Tauranga Open yesterday.

Geary blitzed the final nine holes in six-under to claim the title with a 22-under total of 262 at the Tauranga Golf Club.

The $40,000 tournament, run under the umbrella of Golf Tour New Zealand, was established by Greg Turner to provide opportunities for young New Zealand professionals and to raise the bar for the leading amateurs, both men and women.

Geary finished eight shots clear of fellow Tauranga amateur Kevin Smith who, in turn, was a further five shots clear of the leading professionals, Grant Moorhead (Taranaki) and Doug Holloway (Hawkes Bay). They rattled home with seven-under 64 and 66 respectively to finish on five-under 275.

Canterbury's Tony Christie, the leading professional overnight, finished fifth on eight-under 276, a shot ahead of Coromandel professional Reon Sayer. Australian-based Martin Pettigrew shared seventh place on six-under 278 with Rotorua 15-year-old Danny Lee and the top 10 rounded out by professionals Stuart Reese (North Harbour) and Brad Shilton (Waikato) on five-under 279.

Twenty-three players finished on par or better.

Geary started the final day with a one-shot lead over Smith and by the ninth hole the pair were locked together at 16-under.

Geary, 21, showed his class with a brilliant eagle out of the bunker on the par-4 10th and proceeded to turn up the heat with birdies on the 12th, 13th, 14th and 17th to distance himself from the field.

"I really wanted to win this although it's one thing to think it and another to do it," Geary said.

"I played really well all weekend apart from the one hole on Saturday [10 on the par-5 7th]. This has ended a pretty good run for me and given me some real confidence now as I prepare to head to North America for some major amateur tournaments.

"These GTNZ events with the best amateurs and with professionals in the field are another level up and are about the same level as the amateur events overseas."

Geary won the North Island Amateur last month and was a key part of the Asia Pacific team against Europe at the Michael Bonallack Trophy.

The 22-year-old Smith, third individual in the SBS Invitational this year, gained his best finish in his career to claim second place.

The experienced Moorhead saved his best until last, firing six birdies in the last nine holes to grab a share of third place and the lion's share of the $40,000 prizemoney with Holloway.

The Hawkes Bay professional was also in hot form yesterday, mixing seven birdies with two dropped shots in his 66. Equal top place among the professionals was reward for Holloway who won the last GTNZ event at Taranaki as an amateur last year where, like Geary, he was unable to take the prizemoney.

There were seven professionals in the top 10 with plenty of merit in the performance of Reese, who closed with a five-under 66. He is a former NZPGA winner at nearby Mt Maunganui.

Bay of Plenty will be looking forward to the amateur season ahead with three players in the top 10, rounded out by Lee (Rotorua), the national under-23 champion who celebrated his efforts after gaining residency this week to be available for New Zealand selection.

Only one female made the cut, with another impressive performance from Taranaki 13-year-old Ji Soo Oh. The New Zealand under-21 champion finished with a one-under 70 for a 72-hole total of two-over 286 and a share of 29th place.