Golf: O'Malley misses a tiddler but finally lands the big one

Peter O'Malley missed from 60cm but holed a 5m putt to win the NZPGA tournament in a dramatic ending at Clearwater yesterday.

Victory for the 39-year-old from Bathurst seemed a formality at the ING-sponsored event when he left himself the 60cm tap-in on his final hole of regulation play. But a nervous jab sent the ball on a premature victory lap of the cup before it spun out.

O'Malley then faced a playoff with Steven Bowditch, 21, who won at Adelaide last week and equalled the course record of nine-under 63 in his final round at Clearwater.

They halved the 407m 18th three times in par fours before O'Malley sank his 5m birdie putt to clinch the $152,280 first prize. It was his second win at Clearwater after taking the inaugural event three years ago and his first win in five career playoffs.

O'Malley had stuttered on short putts over the closing two days. His third round of 71 was marred by a four-putt double-bogey on the par-three 16th. He shot 69 yesterday but missed chances to set a commanding lead when his immaculate iron play was not followed by a birdie putt.

The missed tiddler on the 18th followed an innovative use of his three-wood to nudge the ball from a bad lie on the fringe.

"I thought that shot had won me the tournament, but we played an extra hour for the TV," he quipped later. American TV that is. New Zealand viewers missed out.

Of that missed short putt, he said: "I made a good putt on 17 so I was confident when I got over it. I just hit the putt and I still don't know how it didn't go in."

Bowditch and O'Malley had finished on 274, 14 under par, with a three-stroke margin over Americans Jerry Smith and Johnson Wagner. O'Malley had rounds of 66, 68, 71 and 69 while Bowditch shot 64, 71, 76 and 63.

Bowditch stuck to the aggressive approach that served him well in the first two rounds but betrayed him on Saturday when he shot 42 on the second nine, including an eight on the 10th and a double-bogey on the 16th. He fell from one off the lead to a share of 17th.

But yesterday's bogey-free 63 changed that. A chip-in on the ninth was the highlight. The $86,292 he won, with his winnings from Adelaide, have put almost in reach of a card on the US PGA tour.

Best of the Kiwis was the 2003 NZ Open winner, Mahal Pearce, on 281, seven under par, for a share of 19th and $10,000. The Dunedin-based player, who will play the Asian tour this year, had a final round of 73, including a bogey on the last.

Christchurch professional Tony Christie returned shot a closing 67 for a total of 283, five under, and a share of 25th place.

Bradley Heaven collected his first cheque in New Zealand when he finished 38th with a two-under 285.

The tall young Aucklander yesterday shot 70, which was marred by two double-bogeys. On the 10th he pushed his drive out of bounds and on the 18th he found the water on the left off the tee.

At five under for the round after nine holes, Heaven was in line to finish in the top 20. He will head for the US tomorrow to try to qualify on the Nationwide and play on the third-level Hooters tour.

Steve Alker finished on a good note with a 67 for 50th place at one under, but his tournament was ruined when he had a five-over nine on the 12th on Saturday. David Smail finished level par after fading over the weekend with 78, 72.