Golf: Boon heads local amateur hopes

WELLINGTON - Muriwai's Anita Boon will head the Kiwi challenge in the final round of the New Zealand amateur women's strokeplay golf championships at Paraparaumu Beach today.

Boon and Springfield's Renee Fowler, playing her last amateur tournament, are the only New Zealanders on a top-10 leaderboard dominated by overseas players.

The 25-year-old Boon starts the last 18 holes four shots behind leader Hsia-Chuan Lu, of Taiwan, who yesterday shot 74 and 70 to be on 215, four under par after three rounds.

First round leader Chin Huei Hung (Taiwan) carded two 74s to slip into a share of second place with Australian Rebecca Stevenson (73 72) two strokes back.

Boon was in fourth place, three shots ahead of Fowler who spoilt her chances by bogeying the last four holes in a third round 76.

Boon was last night still coming to terms with the fact she is New Zealand's best hope of victory.

"This is a change for me. I am not normally in contention in big tournaments," Boon said after rounds of 75 and 73.

"I can't believe it. I am playing out of my skin."

The key to Lu's surge to the top of the leaderboard was
her putting and solid iron play.

The 23-year-old from Taipei had only one three putt in the 36 holes she played yesterday, at the second hole in the second round.

Lu's compatriot Yun Jye Wei, the leader after two rounds on 142, slipped back with a third round 80 which she put down to poor putting and having a bad headache that stopped her concentrating.

Stevenson, who plays out of the Gold Coast Burleigh club, could be the main danger to the Taiwanese pair after safely negotiating the second and third rounds in one under par.

"Thirty-six holes in a day means you can play yourself out of the tournament if you don't keep your cool," Stevenson said.

The only real blemish on Stevenson's card was a double bogey at the par-three fifth hole, and the Australian was pleased with the way she quickly put it behind her.

The youngest player ever to play in the tournament, 11-year-old Erica Quinton from Hawkes Bay, followed up her first round 90 with rounds of 83 and 86.- NZPA