Golf: Rotorua boys on track for world title

By CRAIG TIRIANA

An even par total has Rotorua Boys' High School in front by five shots at the halfway stage of golf's World Team Championship for Schools in England.

Last night (NZ time) national strokeplay champion Sam Hunt and Matthew Holten paved the way with one-under-par 71s and Bradley Iles chimed in with 74 on a cold dreary day at Berkshire Golf Club.

"It's a solid start. It was pretty cold with lots of water in the air and the ball wasn't going as far as it should," Iles said this morning.

Rotorua's closest challengers with one round to play tonight (NZ time) are Australian representatives St Bede's College, Millford, of England and Lycee Bellevue Toulouse of France.

"Australia look good and they have solid players. We just need to play as solid as we did today and we should bring it home," Iles said.

Two simple keys came through for the defending champions last night - preparation and course management. The Berkshire course poses an interesting test with six par threes, six par fours and six par fives.

All players stuck to the game plan, which was based around hitting the middle of the par threes to take par, birdie the par fives and play the fours in par or better.

Iles said it sounded simple but it was easier said than done, particularly after the organisers altered the practice round rules from 2000 when Rotorua swept to the title by 28 shots.

"We were only allowed one practice round on the course this year," he said.

This made walking the course of paramount importance for the defending champions as they did their yardages and prepared their course management plans.

Hunt, last year's top individual, was one under or all square throughout a round that contained three birdies and two bogies.

No one has successfully defended the individual title in the tournament history and Rotorua Boys' golf master Ian Woon said he was expecting something special from Hunt for the final round.

Holten had a more up-and-down day, slotting four birdies but having three bogies.

He levelled with Hunt, as the leading individuals, by nailing two birdies and two pars over the last four holes.

Iles birdied the par five first, then the par three second, but undid himself with a double-bogey seven on the third.

He dropped shots at the 16th and 17th to end with three birdies, three bogies and a double bogey.

Team scores:

New Zealand (Matthew Holten 71, Sam Hunt 71, Bradley Iles 74) 216, 1st

Australia (Richard Slade 72, Fraser Tull 74, Andrew Tampion 75) 221, 2

England (Harry Diamond 77, Ben Evans 80, Sam Clark 81) 238, 3-

France (Yohann Alazard 76, Loic Salgado 79, Benjamin Blanchard 83) 238, 3-

Sweden 240, 5

Germany 242, 6

South Africa 245, 7

Scotland 247, 8

Wales 251, 9

Ireland 254, 10

The Netherlands 263, 11

Individual:

71 Hunt, Holten

72 Slade

73 Callum Macaulay (Scotland)

74 Iles, Tull, Daniel Froreich (Germany)

75 Tampion

76 Alazard

77 Diamond, Maria Svensson (Sweden)

79 Salgado, Chris Thiart (South Africa)

- DAILY POST (ROTORUA)