By BOB PEARCE
Angela Hawkes stepped out of her twin sister's shadow to top the qualifiers for the national women's matchplay golf championship at Huapai yesterday.
The 23-year-old, formerly from Titirangi but now living in Central Otago, had rounds of 72 and 74 for a two-over total of 146.
That was two strokes
ahead of the field and seven better than her sister, Wendy, the defending matchplay champion.
And it all came as a surprise to Angela, who, for the past few years, has watched her twin scoop national and provincial honours.
"You have to expect to be in her shadow when she's won the titles, but I know she's thrilled for me today," Hawkes said.
"It was a bit of a surprise because I hadn't been hitting the ball that well.
"I was worried about it last night and my brother, Andrew, said it was too late and just to keep it simple."
That recipe worked well for a four-birdie par round in the morning and a steady 74 when the weather turned grey and cold in the afternoon.
Second qualifier Carlie Butler, from Sydney, matched Hawkes' 72 in the morning, but slipped to a 76 in the afternoon.
The 18-year-old, who was top qualifier for this championship last year and reached the semifinals, struggled with her putter all day.
She had four three-putt greens in the afternoon, and gradually, the loss of confidence in her putter seeped into the rest of her game.
A shot further back were two more overseas players, Malaysian Ai Lian Lim, who was beaten by Wendy Hawkes in the final last year, and Joanne Sikkens, from Fox Hills, New South Wales.
Fifth qualifier with 150 was the young Wellingtonian Hee-Jeong Chun (Miramar), one ahead of New Zealand Espirito Santo representative Tina Howard (Taupo) and the North Harbour No 1, Anita Boon (Muriwai).
Boon, with five birdies and five bogeys, was the only player to match par in the afternoon. She had shot 79 in the morning.
Defending champion Wendy Hawkes had a triple bogey on the 11th in the morning when she lost a ball. Her rounds of 77 and 76 qualified her in 10th place.
The top 32 qualifiers will play for the Honda championship, with two rounds of matchplay today and tomorrow and a 36-hole final on Sunday.
