Golf: Par eludes NZ's women golfers

New Zealand's three-woman team struggled to break par as Thailand set the early pace on a tough opening day of the Espirito Santo world amateur golf tournament in Malaysia yesterday.

New Zealand ended the first of four rounds with a total of 150 - tied for 15th in the 39-team competition - 11 shots behind leaders Thailand on 139.

Tina Howard was the best-placed New Zealander, shooting a one-over-par 74 at the Saujana Golf and Country Club near Kuala Lumpur.

Wendy Hawkes shot a three-over 76 for the other counting score, and Brenda Ormsby dropped shots late in her round to shoot a five-over 78.

New Zealand played on the 5618m Palm Course, the tougher of the two courses at the tournament venue.

Thailand, who played at the 5477m Bunga Raya Course, were spearheaded by Naree Song Wongluekiet who shot a five-under 68 to be the leading individual.

Only a handful of the 114 players broke par in warm, humid conditions tempered by a welcome breeze.

New Zealand manager Geoff Smart said putting was the big let-down for the team.

"They're a bit disappointed, they played quite well but didn't really convert their opportunities," Smart said.

"We've played other courses with similar greens this week, and it's not like we putted badly. There were a few unlucky breaks."

Howard and Hawkes had two early birdies apiece, with Howard one-under after six holes. She didn't stay under the card much longer though, with a bogey on the next hole.

"Tina played very well all the way through. She scrambled some good pars and didn't have much luck," Smart said.

Hawkes birdied two of the difficult par-threes but missed crucial putts while Ormsby was two-over after 15 but had a double-bogey on the 17th to see her score blow out.

New Zealand get to play on the easier Bunga Raya course tomorrow alongside Mexico and Sweden. The top-20 teams after the second round will all play the same course.

"Hopefully the putts will drop tomorrow. It can change very quickly in a tournament like this. A couple of solid scores will be enough to make up a lot of ground," Smart said.

The local wildlife was also playing a part, with the courses sitting alongside a rainforest.

Players were having to dodge monkeys who swarmed over the course and in their final practice round yesterday a cobra slithered across the fairway, just metres from the players.

But Smart said, "We were told it wasn't a dangerous one."

- NZPA