Off the tee: School of hard knocks

New Zealand professional Michael Long, who made a promising start to the Nationwide Tour in the United States, has finished the season on a low note.

Long played the second-level tour this year after losing his card on the main USPGA schedule at the end of 2002.

He won a Nationwide tournament at Virginia Beach early this season and for many weeks was among the top 20 on the money list who gain automatic entry to the main tour for next year.

But over a punishing schedule of 26 tournaments Long was unable to maintain his form and he slipped down the rankings.

He was still among the top 55 who qualified for the season-ending Tour Championship last weekend but he finished equal last on 302, 32 shots behind winner Chris Couch.

Long, who finished 35th on the money list with $US131,644, will retain his Nationwide Tour eligibility for next season, but his sights will be on the final qualifying school for the main tour, which is held early next month.

Former Waikato team-mate Steven Alker will also be heading there after finishing 163rd on the USPGA tour money list with earnings of $US261,359. Grant Waite, who played on both tours, will also be at the qualifying school.

The drama that can affect mid-level players on the tours is exemplified by the fate of three on the USPGA tour last weekend.

Glen Hnatiuk went into the final regular season event ranked 130th, five outside the cutoff for keeping his card. He finished 49th in the Chrysler Classic and moved safely to 124th.

Esteban Toledo and Per Ulrik Johansson missed the cut. Toledo hung on in 125th place. Johansson slipped to 126th.

Auckland women's professional Pam Sowden endured a similar tense season finish on the European women's tour, which uses a points system based on prize-money and stroke average to determine rankings. She finished 90th with earnings of €7009.94, the last player to retain her card for next season.

Wellington's Lynnette Brooky was fifth-ranked with earnings of €104,367.61 and a win in the French Open, while Waikato professional Gina Scott was 15th with €60,543.82, boosted by second placing in the Biarritz Open.

Rotorua's Brenda Ormsby, who has opted for a club job, was rated 24th in the stroke average with 72.20 after playing a couple of tournaments early in the year.

* * *

North Harbour, beaten finalists in the men's inter-provincial tournament at Whangarei last year, will have an almost completely new lineup for this year's event at Coringa in Christchurch.

James Davis, Andrew Park, Chris Johns and Phil Mosley are all unavailable, so Josh Carmichael (Pupuke) is the only survivor.

Fresh from winning the North Harbour strokeplay title at Huapai, he will play number one ahead of Ryan Leslie (Peninsula), Ben Jujnovich (Redwood Park), Bevan Dennison (Huapai) and Jonathan Wright (North Shore). Jacques Nortje (Pupuke) is the reserve.

The team was selected after a quadrangular at Coringa last weekend. Canterbury won by half a point from Wellington with North Harbour third and Tasman fourth.

* * *

Most of the international players competing in the Commonwealth women's championships at Remuera this week will move on to Mt Maunganui for the national matchplay championships next week.

The tournament begins on Monday with the foursomes followed by two rounds of strokeplay on Tuesday to find the qualifiers for the championship. The matchplay begins on Wednesday and finishes on Friday with a 36-hole final.

Last year's winner at Nelson, Australian Melanie Holmes-Smith, is not defending her title.

* * *

An interested spectator at the Commonwealth tournament at Remuera this week has been US-based professional Marnie McGuire.

McGuire, who learned to play on the course, is home for a couple of weeks resting an injured shoulder.

She finished 102nd on the USLPGA money list this year and will be eligible for a full season next year.