Golf: Mosley keeps on keeping on

By BOB PEARCE

School exams and their effect on selections have been the hot topic leading up to the interprovincial championships in New Plymouth.

But when North Harbour No 3 Phil Mosley first played in the tournament, mortgages and childcare were more likely topics of conversation among the players.

At the age of 47 and with three teenaged children, the former New Zealand representative stands out in a field where the average age is in the low 20s.

"I didn't start playing the game until I was 15 or 16 and there were very few young players competing," he said.

"But now there's Tiger Woods and golf on Sky TV all the time. Golf's considered a cool sport, which it certainly wasn't when I was younger.

"When I started playing at provincial level again after a 14-year break, I was astounded at the youth of the players. But I'm just another player, and they respect me for that."

There is certainly plenty of reason for that respect. Mosley reached the pinnacle of amateur golf, playing in the Eisenhower Trophy world amateur team championships at Pacific Harbour in Fiji in 1978.

The New Zealand team of Mosley, Frank Nobilo, Geoff Clarke and Paul Hartstone finished fourth. The winning United States team included such players as Bobby Clampett, John Cook, Jay Sigel and Scott Hoch.

Clampett was the top individual, Clarke finished fourth and Mosley sixth.

Mosley, an Aucklander, moved to Wellington for business reasons and won an interprovincial title with them in 1977. He also won twice with Auckland, the last time in 1984 on the Ngamotu course where next week's Tower tournament will be played.

Soon afterwards he retired from the national scene and did not return until four years ago, when he started playing for North Harbour.

"I had a young family. But I think it was really lack of motivation which caused me to stop. I couldn't really see the point of amateur golf after a while.

"But I never stopped playing. I'm reasonably fit for my age and enjoy the competition, pitting my game against someone else.

"Maybe when I'm 50 I'll join the over-40s in the Freyberg Masters."

Proof of his form came this year when he won the Auckland provincial matchplay title at Middlemore for the third time after a break of 22 years.

Mosley believes the rule which says you cannot play the Masters and the Tower tournaments is an unnecessary deterrent to older players competing at the top level.

And he also questions the timing of the tournament, which has robbed the event of some of its best players, who are involved in school exams.

North Harbour have lost one of their top order, James Davis, but still field Chris Johns, a former national champion and national representative at No 1, and a lineup who can be expected to cause some upsets.

Bay of Plenty, beaten finalists last time, have lost Sam Hunt and Bradley Iles to exams and will have Kent Skellern at No 1. The Bay have never won the event, losing at least two finals in playoffs when victory seemed within their grasp.

New Zealand representative Eddie Lee will lead the defending champions, Canterbury, who can afford to slot the beaten national matchplay finalist, Matthew Peter, at No 5.

It could be an omen for Auckland that manager Terry Pulman won the first of his national matchplay titles at Ngamotu and was also in the winning team in 1984.

No 1 Logan Holzer was in stunning form in the recent Stewart Gold Cup and newcomer Andrew Lawson has just won the Maramarua 54-hole event.

Auckland's opening round clash on Tuesday with Wellington, who have lost Gareth Paddison to the professional ranks, could be an early indication of both teams' fate.

Waikato, beaten in the semifinals last year in Invercargill by Bay of Plenty, have had mixed success in the lead-up. They have opted to play New Zealand representative Brad Shilton at No 2 behind young Mathew Holten.

Home teams usually do well in the Tower. Southland reached the semifinals last year and this time Taranaki can be expected to prosper at Ngamotu.

Play in two sections runs from Tuesday to Friday, with the top two in each section qualifying for the semifinals on Saturday morning. The final will be played that afternoon.