Golf: O'Hern gets his reward

SYDNEY -West Australian golfer Nick O'Hern shot a three-under-par 69 yesterday to snatch a two-shot victory in the Coolum Classic on the Sunshine Coast north of Brisbane.

The left-hander saw his fellow overnight co-leaders, New Zealander Paul Devenport and New South Wales' Craig Parry, falter in windy conditions as he recorded his first Australasian PGA Tour win.

O'Hern finished the $A300,000 ($384,665) tournament, which was reduced to 54 holes after Saturday's washout, at 10-under with another West Australian Wayne Smith in second spot.

It was a deserved result for O'Hern, who has been the most consistent player on the tour this season, with four top-10 finishes before this tournament.

Devenport had a steady final round of 73 that left him at six-under for the tournament and tied for eighth.

Devenport, who had missed his past four cuts by one shot, began the day poorly with a bogey on the par-four first hole. But he went with the card over the next nine holes before one further dropped shot on the 11th, which he got back with a birdie on the 13th.

One shot further back in a tie for 10th was fellow Wellingtonian Michael Campbell, who closed with a 72.

Parry, the pre-tournament favourite, had to settle for a minor placing after leading in the final round for the second week in succession.

Last Sunday, he stumbled over the closing stages to allow New Zealander Greg Turner to win the Australian PGA Championship in Melbourne.

Yesterday, after an early slip, he birdied his way to the top of the leaderboard with six holes to play.

But O'Hern pulled level again after the 14th, before Parry dropped two shots over the remaining holes to finish at seven-under and in a five-way tie for third. - NZPA