Golf: Coolest heads call shots

By DAVID LEGGAT

WELLINGTON - Big hitters should pocket their Big Berthas if they want to give themselves a chance of winning this week's New Zealand Open golf championship at Paraparaumu Beach.

The key to success, according to those who should figure at the business end of the tournament on Sunday, is patience.

While the course - which Michael Campbell rates as New Zealand's finest - is far from phyically demanding at just 5919m, it does require precision, a large degree of smart thinking, good course management and a measure of luck.

The precision comes in the need for accuracy - forget the big booming drive off the tee and stay out of the tricky rough; the luck will come in golf's equivalent to the rub of the green. A bad bounce from the hard, unyielding fairways at a critical time could undo a player's good work As the course broiled under a cloudless sky yesterday, Campbell and brilliant young Australian amateur Aaron Baddeley both stressed a cool head as crucial factors for championship contenders.

The pair are both winners on the Australasian circuit this summer - Campbell in the Johnnie Walker Classic in Taiwan last November; Baddeley, sensationally, in the Australian Open in Sydney a couple of weeks later.

"You've got to be smart and patient," Campbell said. "It's about accuracy more than length. Length isn't that important. There's going to be a lot of guys hitting good tee shots that bounce into the rough."

Added Baddeley: "Everyone's going to get some bad kicks out there for sure. You've got to keep your head on. Whoever drives it the best this week will be in contention at the end. If you drive well you'll score well."

Five of the six winners on the tour this season are at Paraparaumu - Campbell, Baddeley, Brett Rumford, Greg Turner and Nick O'Hern. Eight of the world's top 200 players will tee off this morning, Turner topping the list at No 74.

Unlike a horse race, a rugby test or a tennis championship, golf tournaments tend not to offer an outright favourite, unless someone called Woods is in the field and is in the process of slicing through the toughest Tour in golf with indecent ease.

However Baddeley, who warmed up for the Crown Lager-sponsored Open with a bogey-free three-under 68 on Tuesday, will attract one of the biggest galleries today.

Eighteen-year-old amateur winners of an Australian Open only come along once in a century. Rare talent combined with a refreshing attitude, mixing confidence with a willingness to have a chuckle during his round, is a winning combination.

Baddeley will tee off with good mates Turner and Australian Peter O'Malley. That pair warmed up for the Open with a few days at Turner's Queenstown house with their respective families as twice-Open champion Turner stuck to his successful preparation formula for important events - minimal practice, much R and R.

The day's other most appealing trio is Rumford, Campbell and O'Hern while the the two ends of New Zealand golf will be side by side as the doyen of New Zealand players, Sir Bob Charles, treads the fairways with one of the country's most promising, amateur Gareth Paddison.

While New Zealand has strong title contenders headed by Turner and Campbell, the Australians gained an early edge yesterday. O'Malley and Baddeley won the four-hole skins tournament, cleaning up against three New Zealand pairings to share eight bottles of bubbly.