Golf: Kiwi golf pros face moments of truth

By Graham Skellern

New Zealand's No 1 golfer, Greg Turner, is having "a pretty solid year" on the European PGA Tour, without doing anything spectacular.

"I'm doing the steady stuff well, but I'm just not making any putts. Back 10 years ago on the tour I had to putt well to be steady," said Turner, who is again on the leaderboard at the Scandanavian Open in Malmo, Sweden.

"I'm languishing between 100 and 120 on the [tour] putting statistics. If I can make a few and get on a putting streak then I know I can do well and have a really good week."

Turner completed rounds of 70, 68 and 70 to be eight under for the Scandinavian tournament and tied for tenth, nine shots behind runaway leader Colin Mont-gomerie, at 17 under with two 67s and a 65.

Michael Campbell, who slipped from third equal after the second round, is a shot behind Turner on 209, after firing an even-par 72 yesterday.

"It just takes a couple of weeks to turn an average year into a good one," said Turner. "I'm only a win or two top-five finishes away from the top 50 in the world, and I've still got 10 to 11 tournaments left on my schedule. I'm waiting for the big one at the end of the year - that's my story."

No New Zealand professional has posted a victory on a major tour this year. Turner, who has drifted to 44th on the European order of merit, and 75th in the world from a career-high of 60, is hoping to turn his season around in the United States, with two important tournaments over the next three weeks.

Turner, along with the enigmatic Frank Nobilo, is this week lining up for his second major of the year - the US PGA at the Medinah course near Chicago, where Hale Irwin did his victory run around the 18th green in 1990 to win his third US Open title at the age of 45.

Irwin's victory jig will be long remembered, for it came after he drilled a 3m putt for birdie at the end of a dramatic 19-hole playoff against Mike Donald. Irwin became the oldest golfer to win the US Open.

Turner was intending to stay on the week following the PGA Championship and play the $4 million Sprint International, just as he did last year. But he has changed his plans and will return to London to spend more time at home. His wife, Jane, is expecting their second child in three months.

But Turner will be jetting back across the Atlantic to contest the rich $10 million NEC Invitational at the Firestone Country Club, Ohio, from August 26-29. This second World Golf Championship event is reserved for around 48 European and United States Ryder Cup players and the United States and International President's Cup golfers.

With such large prizemoney available for such a small field, this is the time for Turner to make a move up the rankings.

"The NEC has lots of ranking points available and playing well there will take me a long way to getting into the top 20 on the European money list - that's what I want to achieve."

Ranking points golfers pick up in the WGC events are transferred to their home tours. And by either making the European top 20 or reaching the world's top 50, Turner will earn a spot in the final lucrative WGC event this year - the American Express Strokeplay at Valderama, Spain, from November 4-7, where another $10 million is up for grabs.

Nowadays, New Zealand professionals, men and women, are dotted on numerous tours around the globe attempting to make a comfortable living. Turner accepts that "for a lot of the guys it hasn't been a good year, in general. Everyone has been struggling at the same time.

"When your compatriots are struggling there needs to be something positive to turn the whole thing around - just one victory would help the others along. Usually when we get around to this time of the year someone has had that victory - and things aren't looking too rosy. But two months [until the end of the European and United States seasons] is a long time in golf.

"Maybe Campo [Michael Campbell] and I need to come out of the box and it will be a different looking year. Michael is having some good solid weeks as well - and they are good building blocks for him.

"He made swing changes and was on a downward spiral but Michael is now more comfortable with his life, family and golf, and it wouldn't surprise me if he has a win before the end of the year."

Turner said one positive was the form of Waikato's Stephen Scahill who "was playing really well and taking care of business" on the secondary Challenger Tour in Europe. Scahill is fifth on the money list and is well placed to regain his full playing status for next year's European PGA Tour.

"Elliott Boult has also put in some good performances [on the Challenger Tour]," said Turner. "But at the more visible end Frank [Nobilo], Phil [Tataurangi] and Waitey [Grant Waite] have been struggling.

Waite, 127th on the US PGA money list, and Tataurangi, 212th, both missed the weekend cut at the Buick Open in Michigan. And with the 153rd-ranked Nobilo, they have plenty of work to do in their remaining nine PGA events to retain their exemption for next year's tour.