Tina Howard of Taupo has negotiated her way through to the second round of the Australian women's amateur golf championships in Adelaide.
Howard was never behind as she eased past West Australia's Bree Turnbull, a member of the Australian Institute of Sport, 2 and 1 yesterday.
The fourth seed, who was the only New Zealander to qualify for the top 32 to fight out the championship, won through when a number of big names fell by the wayside.
They included the favourite, Australian strokeplay and junior champion Sarah Kemp. She was upset by Victoria's Christine Beltran, who grabbed the final qualifying spot after a playoff with five players, including New Zealand's Kyla Welsh and Penny Newbrook.
Beltran beat Kemp 1 up.
Victoria's Melanie Holmes-Smith, the New Zealand strokeplay and amateur champion, lost to young NSW player Helen Oh at the 19th, while defending champion Nikki Garrett (NSW) also went out in an upset, to Emma Bennett (Victoria) 1 up. There are two rounds today. The semifinals are tomorrow and the 36-hole final on Sunday.
Golf: Howard through as stars fall by wayside
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