Golf: Sarah Bradley works her way back

While some headed to the practice fairway to bash balls and others honed their technique on the putting green, 24-year-old Hamilton golfer Sarah Bradley drove back to her temporary home yesterday at Mt Maunganui for a sleep after a steady-as-she-goes opening round of qualifying for the New Zealand Amateur championship.

Wellington's Julianne Alvarez leads the women's field after carding a one over par 73 in round one while Bradley, her fellow New Zealand rep, carded a two-over 74 to sit second.

Outwardly, the talented Cambridge golfer looks a picture of health - and there's not a lot wrong with her game either and she and Alvarez traded shots in their early morning grouping.

But Bradley continues to fight back from a severe head injury suffered in a car crash she and her father were in during a Christmas visit home from the US four years ago. She's feeling as good as she ever has since the accident but, as with any brain trauma, she's managing her way back, graduating from a tidy US college career and still undecided about the right time to turn professional.

"I'm still not 100 per cent and still like a little kid in many respects, having to make sure I get lots of sleep and managing myself around the course," Bradley said after binning a 3m putt on the 18th to save par at the Mount Maunganui Golf Club.

Bradley scored a scholarship from golf powerhouse Oklahoma State University, with US star Ricky Fowler on the men's team, but, home for Christmas in 2008, her world came crashing in. She spent weeks in Waikato Hospital and another eight months at home, eventually opting for Kent State University in Ohio before coming home for good last year.

There's not a trace of anger about her road to recovery, with Bradley philosophical about the journey she's on.

"It could take me years yet to fully recover - I seem to go well and then have a lapse health-wise. I'm feeling good right now but sometimes neglect the extra sleep I need, and out on the course there's no one there to baby me or make sure I'm okay because everyone else is worried about their own game. But I just have to remind myself that a missed putt or a migraine is a great alternative to not being here at all."

With world No1 Lydia Ko, New Zealand strokeplay champion Emily Perry and Chantelle Cassidy missing this event because of the Queen Sirikit Cup, Alvarez and Bradley know the title is there for the taking.

Alvarez, 15, bowed out to Ko two years ago in Hastings and said the Korean-born 14-year-old's absence had thrown the title race wide open.

"She is intimidating when she's around but everyone is striving to make that final now because suddenly it's achievable with a couple of the hurdles out of the way. Maybe it's just my mentality but she just seems so solid when she's playing, like every shot she hits will be next to the pin," Alvarez said.

Bradley doesn't feel as intimidated, saying Ko gives the rest of the Kiwis a player to aspire to.

"I don't feel whoever wins this week doesn't deserve it just because Lydia and Emily aren't here.

"Lydia won't be around forever and will have a successful career as a pro, so the girls here this week should feel they are the future golfers of New Zealand."

Australian Harrison Savage, himself battling back from a freak accident that saw him badly fracture his leg and dislocate his knee, was in sizzling form, shooting a six-under 66 to lead qualifying.

He leads Australian squad member Ryan McCarthy by one shot, with New Zealand strokeplay champion Vaughan McCall, Auckland rep Sam An and Western Australian Brady Watt all at four-under par.

McCall is looking to complete a rare double this week by becoming the first player in 24 years to win the strokeplay and matchplay in the same year.

"The conditions were always going to suit me," said the Gore 20-year-old, who birdied three of his last five holes.

"There was a bit of wind which was good. It made it a bit of a test, it wasn't just pure conditions."

Local Brad Kendall, who won the New Zealand strokeplay title in 2010 at Hastings, opened with a two-under 70 to be four shots back, tied seventh with Josef Edge (St Andrews), Tauranga's Eddie Burgess, Tyler Lock (Castlecliff) and Thomas Brockelsby (Royal Wellington).

The final round of qualifying is today, with the top 32 making the NZ Amateur, which is knockout matchplay, in a seeded draw.