Golf: Evergreen of Florida on relentless march

Dana Quigley, the iron man of golf, continues to prove his theory that the practice range is fine, but tournament play is what counts.

The 57-year-old completed his 250th consecutive tournament on the United States Champions tour at the weekend, finishing second to Hale Irwin in the Turtle Bay event in Hawaii. It was also the 264th in a row for which he was eligible.

Quigley never takes a break from the game. In the off-season he plays 36 or more holes a day at home in West Palm Beach, Florida. He has no other hobbies and says there is nothing else he would rather do.

A couple of weeks ago he won the opening tournament on the seniors circuit in a playoff with former British Open champion Tom Watson.

While most of the field are easing out of their winter rust in January, Quigley is hungry for more and it shows. In the past three years he has won the opening tournament twice and he finished second in 2004.

Competitiveness and club spirit proved an uneasy mix when the Auckland Golf Association changed its men's interclub pennant system last season.

In a bid to involve more club members, the association opted for teams combining handicap, junior and elite players in home and away matches. But in some cases the mixture didn't gel and the experiment has been ditched.

This season, pennant teams will be made up of 12 players, two of whom must be under 19 on the day of the first match. They will play matchplay singles off the stick with no foursomes.

Pennants will be played in two divisions, with automatic promotion-relegation for one team. Starting on February 20 at Middlemore, there will be seven rounds, semifinals and a club finals day for all grades at Pukekohe on May 22. The other interclub competition will have teams of 12 playing off handicap, with an accumulated handicap total not to exceed 130. Semifinals will be at The Grange on May 15.

Former professional Martin Phillips will defend his West Coast Open title at Muriwai this weekend.

The field for the 54-hole tournament includes Yun Seok Gang, who won the Auckland Anniversary tournament at Akarana, and Kevin Chun, a member of the New Zealand Eisenhower team.

The field of 100 will play 36 holes tomorrow and 18 on Sunday on the links course.

On Sunday at Maungakiekie 11 clubs will contest the Auckland final of the national interclub challenge. Muriwai have already won the North Harbour section.

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Steve Alker began his Nationwide tour season with an encouraging seventh placing in the opening event in Panama, earning US$15,816 ($22,240).

The Hamilton-born professional was second after three rounds but fired a disappointing three-over-par 73 in the final round to finish at 276, four shots behind winner Vance Veazey.

The tour players now head for the South Pacific where they have co-sanctioned tournaments at the Jacob's Creek Open in Adelaide and the ING New Zealand PGA tournament at Clearwater, Christchurch, on February 24-27. Alker will play the Holden New Zealand Open at Gulf Harbour.