Golf: Agonising near-miss by Waite

Grant Waite. Picture / Reuters

New Zealand golfer Grant Waite fell short of regaining his PGA Tour card by just one shot in the United States today.

He blew his chances in the final nine holes of the six-round qualifying school in Florida when he double-bogeyed the 10th and had two more bogeys -- on the 13th and 15th -- to finish with a two-over 74. He had two birdies in the first nine.

The first 30 today qualified for the full tour and while Waite finished in a share of 33rd, he was just one shot away from finishing among the qualifiers.

Waite came closest of the four New Zealanders chasing a card this week and his six rounds totalled 422.

He was in with a good chance after shooting rounds of 73, 72, 68, 67 and 68 leading up to today's final round at the Panther Lake Course.

The other New Zealanders chasing a card this week were Michael Long, Steven Alker and Tim Wilkinson.

Waite, who completed the six rounds 10-under, will retain his full rights to the secondary Nationwide Tour, as will Michael Long who finished in a share of 54th place.

Long, five shots off 30th place after five rounds, enjoyed an eagle-birdie start but had to settle for a one-under 71 today to finish at seven-under par.

Seven Alker shot a final round five-over 77 to finish in a share of 127th on one-over par while Tim Wilkinson was a further four shots behind after a final one-over 73.

NZ scores:

422: Grant Waite 72 73 68 67 68 74 - Tied for 33rd
425: Michael Long 70 72 74 71 67 71 - Tied for 54th
433: Steven Alker 71 70 71 74 70 77 - Tied for 109th
437: Tim Wilkinson 69 79 73 71 72 73 - Tied for 127th

- NZPA