Golf: Big putt raises big hopes

By BOB PEARCE in Christchurch

Gavin Coles sank a 16m putt on the last green to win the New Zealand PGA tournament at Clearwater yesterday and take a giant step towards regaining his card on the United States PGA tour.

He had four birdies in the last nine holes for a two-under-par 68, and a three-shot margin over fellow Australians Bradley Hughes and Brendan Jones and American Bill Lunde, who had a two-shot lead with six holes to play.

The 35-year-old Coles from Bathurst in New South Wales, has been down this path before.

In 2002, he won the Jacob's Creek Open in Adelaide, which put him on to the USPGA tour through the Nationwide tour.

He lost his card at the end of last year, but the $201,926 he won yesterday with his six-under-par 282 gives him a great start to another Nationwide campaign and a shot at the big tour.

"To be honest, once you've played there, you don't want to play anywhere else. They look after you so well," he said.

Coles was humbled by the names on the NZPGA trophy, which hasn't been contested since 1987.

The last winner was Frank Nobilo, and the names of Bob Charles, Kel Nagle, John Lister and Jumbo Ozaki are on the silverware.

Coles began the final round tied for sixth at two-under, two behind Lunde and Aussie veteran Peter Senior, whose 69 in the teeth of a howling north-easter on Saturday was worth a 60 in calmer conditions.

The southerly turned and abated a bit, and Lunde was seven under and cruising after 12 holes.

But on the par-four 13th, where only one birdie was scored all day, he dropped a shot.

On the next he had to take a drop out of a hazard, and the second bogey in a row shook his confidence.

Up ahead, Coles had been checking the leaderboard.

He set himself the target of getting to six under, which he thought might be good enough to win.

He birdied the 10th, 12th and 14th and saved his par with a very good putt on the 17th.

His second to the last was disappointing but his monster putt made up for that.

Behind him Lunde was drooping and it was no surprise when he three-putted the last two holes to slip back into a share of second.

Best of the Kiwis was Richard Best, from Palmerston North, who finished equal 10th at level par.

That gave him $28,000 to go with the $22,000 he won for seventh at the New Zealand Open in January.

The other New Zealanders were blown away.

David Smail finished 37th after a final round of 75, and Steve Alker and Gareth Paddison recorded 82s.

The strength of Saturday's north-easterly wind could be gauged by the statistics for the 10th hole, a 540m par-five on the card but with the tee moved forward 40m to make it playable on the day.

Nobody birdied the hole in the third round, and only 38 of the field of 62 made par.

In the first round, there were 47 birdies.

Among the horror stories elsewhere on the course, Australian Scott Gardiner put three balls into the water on the par four 13th to record an 11 on his way to 84.

American Ryan Armour stood on the 18th tee three under par and only one off the lead. He drove out of bounds and then had five putts from three metres to finish with a nine.