KEY POINTS:
Mark Purser reckons the last time he dropped 11 shots in one round, he was on a 12 handicap.
Unfortunately, the Hamilton rookie did just that in the third round of his first professional tournament and despite making five birdies, he rather spoilt what had been an impressive beginning to his new career.
Purser's third round of six-over 77 blew him out to five over for the tournament and dropped him from a position of 29th equal on Friday night to a share of 64th with one round to play.
"I just never felt comfortable somehow. I had no rhythm. It was just one of those days," he said. "I hardly ever play like that.
"Usually I make heaps of pars. Sometimes in golf, no matter what you do, where you hit it, it just doesn't work and it was like that today," Purser said.
Remarkably, Purser made just one par in his final nine holes, mixing two birdies with six bogeys and is bemused as to why the golfing gods treated him so badly.
"There were four holes when my iron shot to the green looked so good in the air. Yet one spun off the green, two were knocked down short by the wind and one ran off the back."
Each time he dropped a shot and each time he was reminded of professional golf's most important principle that, if you make a mistake, minimise the damage.
The 21-year-old Purser admits his professional debut means there is a different feeling about this golf tournament for him.
"I was slightly more nervous. But I just had to put the whole thing about playing for money at the back of my mind."
Growing up across the road from the Hamilton Golf Club's St Andrews course, Purser was among the country's elite amateurs until a month ago. He played the Eisenhower Trophy in South Africa then decided to start playing for money.
He's the only one of the Eisenhower trio to make the cut at the Open. Josh Geary, also in his professional debut, missed by two and James Gill, still playing as an amateur, was just one shot too many.
This week has been the ideal introduction to a professional career. His amateur credentials gave him direct entry, he could have his father Brian (the former Commonwealth Games badminton bronze medallist) as his caddy and his mother Dorinka behind the ropes.
The support systems could not have been better.
He knows it's about to get a whole lot tougher. In four days he flies to Thailand to play the final stage of the Asian Tour qualifying school. There are more than 300 players chasing just 40 places on this ever-expanding tour.
Purser has played in other parts of Asia, but never in Thailand. He's going early to get accustomed to the heavy, tangled tropical grasses he'll find on the fairways and rough and the grainy Bermuda grass greens.
Purser has joined the fledgling management group to which Brad Iles and Matthew Holten, along with 2003 New Zealand Open champion Mahal Pearce, belong.
The company is called U.management and is backed by young Wellington businessman Dean Eggers. Coaching guru Mal Tongue is also involved and the company is backing the Kiwi tyros for up to three years.
