Golf: Good turns bad for Geary

Most golfers understand that disaster lurks around every corner.

Just ask young New Zealander Josh Geary, who was sailing along in the latter stages of the New Zealand Open at The Hills yesterday. He had posted four successive birdies before stepping on to the tee at the par-five 17th at 10-under for the championship and challenging for a top five result.

The best part of 20-odd minutes later Geary had an eight to his name after he hit his drive with a little fade into the left-to-right wind and watched on as it was deposited into a fairway lake. "It was a bad shot on the tee but I don't think it deserved an eight," Geary said.

"That's golf, I suppose. You never know what's going to happen and you just have to take it on the chin."

Geary composed himself enough to par the last and sign for a two-under-par 70 which he considered pretty solid in the windy conditions, leaving him tied for ninth at seven-under 281 for the championship, seven shots behind the winner, American Robert Gates.

It continued a run of fine form for Geary in the championship after he tied for fourth here last year and was 12th equal in 2007. But it was the 17th which dominated his thoughts shortly after his round. "It was a comedy of bad lies," he said, explaining that he took a drop after hitting into the water only to be left with a bad lie. He got a flyer from there and ended in another poor downslope lie near rocks in a fairway bunker to the left about 95m from the hole.

His next bounced hard over the green into straggly rough en route to his triple bogey.

- NZPA