Golf: Englishman chalks up stableford points

SYDNEY - English golfer Jonathan Lomas opened a five-point gap over his closest rivals in the Australian Championship yesterday, while a late charge by New Zealander David Smail lifted him high up the leaderboard.

Lomas scored plus 20 under the modified stableford format for the ANZ-sponsored $A1.75 million ($2.15 million) event after shooting an opening round nine-under-par 64 that contained eight birdies and an eagle. His closest pursuer was Frenchman Raphael Jacqelin, whose 66 was worth plus 15.

Smail's plus 11 from a five-under 68 made him the highest-placed New Zealander, one point ahead of Greg Turner, who carded a 69.

The scoring format, being used in Australia for the first time, rewards an albatross with eight points, an eagle with five and a birdie with two. A bogey is penalised one point and anything worse is minus three points.

Smail began with birdies on the first three holes. He dropped a shot on the par-three ninth when his tee shot went right, but produced three more birdies over the final five holes.

"Last week, I started hitting the ball a bit better than I have been," he said. "My confidence is starting to come back."

Turner was pleased with his performance after notching six birdies and conceding just two bogeys. But he was disappointed that more of his putts did not drop on the soft greens, as evidenced by his finish of six straight pars.

Turner said the scoring system provided a welcome change.

"You play 72-hole strokeplay every week, and this is a format that encourages you to be a little more aggressive."

- NZPA