Golf: Game, set, par: Draper swaps court for fairway

Multi-talented Australian Scott Draper trades his tennis racquet for golf clubs when he tees off in the New Zealand Open at Gulf Harbour next week.

The 30-year-old Queenslander joined elite tennis company last weekend when he won the Australian Open mixed doubles title with compatriot Samantha Stosur in Melbourne.

They were a wildcard entry, had never played together before but the combination clicked and they beat fourth seeds Kevin Ullyett of Zimbabwe and South African Lizel Huber in three sets.

Shortly before the championship began, Draper won his Australasian PGA Tour card.

Having made his golf pro debut at the Victorian Open during the tennis championship - remarkably, playing his first and second rounds either side of his tennis semifinal - he has received an exemption into the $1.5 million Holden-sponsored Open.

Draper comes from a tennis-playing family. Golf was "something I just did in my school holidays and enjoyed in my spare time", he told the Herald last night.

His life took a savage twist, however, when his wife Kellie died of cystic fibrosis in 1999.

"I just found golf therapeutic and in the last five years it's become more prevalent.

"My handicap came down and I fell in love with it and it overtook my tennis in some respects.

"I found it thrilling and something I wanted to pursue."

Draper, who turned pro at tennis in 1993, won the Queens Club singles title in London in 1998, to go with three Challenger titles, reached a career-high singles ranking of 42 and has pocketed over US$1.5 million ($2.1 million) in winnings.

Last year a knee injury sidelined him from Wimbledon and the US Open. Around August, his mind turned to golf. The Australasian Tour school was coming up in Melbourne at the Peninsula North course.

"I thought, okay, bugger tennis for the time being, let's go and play golf. I booked my ticket, went to the school and got my card.

"It wasn't a planned thing, but I always knew once my tennis career was over I'd like to pursue golf on a fulltime basis.

"The funny thing was I went down with not much practice or time and energy put into it and that's the exciting part, I've got so much learning to do. What better place to start than the New Zealand Open?"

Draper knows his tennis career is coming to an end. Pushed, he reckons he'll mix the two this year before golf takes priority next year.

"But if my body feels like it's got another year in me and I'm still playing good tennis and still enjoying it I may do that next year.

"All I know is golf will definitely be my single focus soon. Whether it's 2006 or 2007 I'm not 100 per cent sure."

Open tournament director Phil Aickin is delighted Draper is in the field.

"The guy can certainly play. ... He'll definitely be an asset to the whole profile of the event," he said.

In another development last night, rising Englishman Nick Dougherty, who won his debut European Tour event at the Caltex Masters in Singapore last weekend, is in the Open field.

Dougherty, 22, and a protege of the great Nick Faldo, held off Ryder Cup stars and European heavyweights Colin Montgomerie and Thomas Bjorn down the final stretch to win by five shots.

New Zealand Open

At: Gulf Harbour.
Starting: Next Thursday.
Prizemoney: $1.5 million.