Golf: Kiwis slip to 19th in Eisenhower Trophy

New Zealand are in the middle of the pack heading into the final round of the Eisenhower Trophy golf tournament in Turkey overnight (NZT) in an event shortened to 54 holes because of delays caused by severe thunderstorms.

New Zealand are in 19th, 18 shots behind 13-time champions the US who lead the Republic of Korea by six shots.

Southland golfer Vaughan McCall once again led the way for the Kiwis with an even par 71 at the Sultan Course and he was well supported by Waikato amateur Mathew Perry who also carded an even par round. Two-time Eisenhower representative Ben Campbell signed for a disappointing non-counting 13 over 84.

McCall, who is tied 27th on the individual standings, was pleased with his short game throughout the round.

"The whole day I was playing some good shots but I just left myself in some bad spots around the greens," the 21-year-old from Gore said. "My short game stood strong and I never missed an up-and-down all day.

"The back nine got a lot more intense as I kept leaving myself with some tricky chips and always left meat on the bone for the putts, too. It was rewarding to hole all the putts needed and sail in with a par round.

"I am still mostly happy with where my game is at and feel like I now want the score to represent how I am playing. So when I put it together tomorrow expect a low round."

Campbell, who finished as the fourth individual at the 2010 Eisenhower Trophy in Argentina, was in a different mood after a round that included six bogeys, four double bogeys and a birdie.

"It was not the ideal day I was looking for but the boys both shot 71s so we stuck in there," said Campbell, who is playing his last tournament as an amateur. "There is a lot of room for improvement. I struggled with the swing at the start and I was like a labrador searching for water finding a few water hazards."

The US set a 36-hole record of 20-under-par 266 to break the previous record of 268 set by the winning US team in Puerto Rico in 2004.

The second round was badly affected by thunderstorms that saw only six of the 72 teams able to complete their rounds before play was abandoned.