Golf: Those wee putts to win can be the toughest

When Peter O'Malley missed a putt of under a metre for victory on the 72nd hole of the New Zealand PGA tournament at Clearwater, he was following in some distinguished spike marks.

Back in 1970 American Doug Sanders, renowned for one of the shortest swings in the game, reached the last hole of the British Open at St Andrew's needing a par four to beat Jack Nicklaus by one shot.

He pitched to 12m past the flag for two, lagged his first putt to within a metre and missed it.

"I was over the ball," he said, "and when I looked down I thought I saw a spot of sand in the line.

"Without changing the position of my feet I bent down to pick it up. It was a piece of brown grass.

"I didn't take the time to get reorganised. I mishit the ball - hit it in the neck of the face - and pushed it to the right of the hole."

O'Malley had the consolation of winning the playoff with Steven Bowditch on the fourth extra hole of sudden death. Sanders, who had been forced to pre-qualify for the Open, lost an 18-hole playoff by one shot.

* The12th hole of the Clearwater course, a par four of 360m, produced two of the more unusual incidents at the NZPGA tournament.

Steve Alker scored a nine, which saw his third round blow out to 80. Among his struggles he had a double hit when the ball flew upwards and struck the shaft of his club as he tried to extricate himself from a hazard.

Bubba (his given name) Watson, a 26-year-old from Florida, who is one of the longest hitters on the Nationwide tour, smoked his drive over some fairway bunkers, past a TV tower and into some rushes beside a lake.

His lie seemed reasonable and he attacked the ball with his spin wedge. The wedge hit a hidden rock and the blade was twisted by the impact. Watson bogeyed the hole and then deposited the wedge in two pieces into a rubbish bin. 

* Golf fans were incensed by TV3's decision to end their telecast of the NZPGA playoff before the conclusion, and the commentators and tour officials were equally distressed.

It may prompt a rethink of whether pay television would be a better option for live cover.

Golf is hardly a ratings winner - terrestrial TV charges a fee to cover it - and to be honest four or five hours even with the best commentators in the world stretch our increasingly attenuated attention spans.

Pay TV would cater to the enthusiasts, while a highlights programme similar to the one which makes the English premier division soccer so watchable, might appeal more to general viewers.

Incidentally, Emma Keeling, who added a touch of youth and vitality to TV3's cover, also has a solid golfing background. In her early teens she represented Northland in the national interprovincial tournament at Palmerston North in 1990, winning all her matches. Five years later she was a member of the North Harbour team that won the trophy.

* Hawkes Bay professional Richard Squire won the 36-hole Perry Aggregates Pro-Am contested on the Hamilton and Ngaruawahia courses.

After taking a one-shot lead into the second day, Squire carded a three-under 69 for a two-round total of 10-under 134. He maintained his one shot lead from local favourite David Smail and Manawatu's Hamish Robertson, who also both completed rounds of 69 for totals of 135 to finish equal second.

Squire, who recorded a tournament-best 63 in the 2004 New Zealand Open at The Grange, plays the third-level Euro-Pro tour in Europe.