Golf: Tataurangi back in form

New Zealand golfer Phil Tataurangi has picked up US$12,500 ($20,720) for his share of ninth place in the US second-tier Nationwide Tour Chitimacha Louisiana Open. Tataurangi closed with a round of 69 for a four-round total of 279 to trail winner Johnson Wagner of the US by seven strokes in the US$500,000 event. The cheque indicates a welcome return to form for Tataurangi - on the comeback trail after 16 months on the sidelines with a serious back injury - after missing the cut at the full PGA Tour Honda Classic golf tournament in Miami two weeks ago. Fellow New Zealander Tim Wilkinson missed the halfway cut by three strokes after rounds of 72 and 73 for a total of 145. Michael Long was further back on 149, Grant Waite on 152 and Steve Alker on 153.