Open heads into final stage

EXIT SANDMAN: Akarana member Andrew Wright hits out of the bunker on the second hole at the Poverty Bay men's golf open on the Awapuni Links course yesterday. Wright won through to this morning's championship 16 semifinals where he faced top seed Anaru Reedy.Picture by Paul Rickard

DAVID Solomann can't remember the last time he made the semifinals of the Emerre and Hathaway Poverty Bay men's golf open.

He suspects it was the year he won it . . . 1995.

This morning the former Gisborne golfer teed off as one of the last four in the hunt for the Keiha Cup championship 16 title on the Awapuni Links course where he learned to play.

Solomann, or “Solly” as he is known to most, was a teenager then. Today he is a father in his 40s living in Auckland and playing at the Whitford Park course, with son Glenn starting to follow in his fairway steps.

Glenn is caddying for his dad at the Open and can certainly lay claim to helping the big man advance two steps closer to Poverty Bay-East Coast golf's premier men's honour.

Solomann eliminated defending champion Simon Jeune (a member of the host Poverty Bay club) 3 and 2 in Round 1 matches yesterday morning.

It put him into a quarterfinal against Richard Wright — one of four men hungry to get a Matamata name on the silverware for the first time.

Solomann and former professional Wright had a humdinger of a battle, which went to the 18th hole (the ninth hole, as they started on 10).

The difference was the 17th. Solomann put one of his wedges — he and son disputed which one it was after the match — to three feet from the pin and sank the birdie putt to go 1-up.

He murdered a drive down the last and a nervous short putt for par was enough to put him into a semifinal against the man who helped produce a course getting huge wraps — greenkeeper William Brown.

Brown, or “Wi” as he is known to his mates, made something of a Houdini escape in his quarterfinal against colourful Patutahi character Hukanui Brown.

Hukanui birdied the par-3 sixth hole (their 15th as they started on 10) to go 2-up, only for Wi to win the next two holes to square the match.

They halved the 18th in pars, then set about trying to drive the short par-4 10th in the sudden-death playoff.

Hukanui bombed his tee shot to just short of the green while Wi sent his right of the green but not far off pin-high.

He put his approach to about six feet and Hukanui did similar with his but missed the putt for birdie. Wi made no mistake with his birdie putt to stay in the mix for a second PB Open title, having won it eight years ago.

This morning's other semi featured the man to beat — top qualifier and Gisborne Park member Anaru Reedy — against Andrew Wright, the brother of Richard.

Auckland-based Andrew is a member of Akarana but is from Matamata and came up against good friend and Matamata member Tim Neill in the quarterfinals.

Their match went all the way to the 18th (ninth hole) and was decided by the putter. Both men put their approaches to around 25 feet past the pin. Neill three-putted, Wright two-putted and that was the ball game.

It was a long day for Andrew Wright, who birdied the 19th in the morning to get past home-course player Peter Clayton.

Reedy, who won the 36-hole strokeplay qualifying by somewhere near the length of the straight, cruised through his two matches — 6 and 5 against Matamata's Paul Wood; and 5 and 4 against Poverty Bay's Thomas Donovan.

He headed into the semis in the zone but knowing full well matchplay is an unpredictable beast and that Wright is a gritty competitor unlikely to go away.

Poverty Bay Open championship 16 matchplay results — Round 1: Anaru Reedy (Gisborne Park) def Paul Wood (Matamata) 6 and 5, Thomas Donovan (Poverty Bay) def Dwayne Russell (Patutahi) 2 and 1, Tim Neill (Matamata) def Andrew Higham (Te Puia Springs/PB) 4 and 3, Andrew Wright (Akarana) def Peter Clayton (PB) on the 19th, Richard Wright (Matamata) def Allan White (PB) 3 and 2, David Solomann (Whitford Park) def Simon Jeune (PB) 3 and 2, William Brown (PB) def Reef Pohatu (Future Geyserland/Patutahi/PB) 5 and 3, Hukanui Brown (Patutahi) def Bruce Wilson (Flexiclub) 2 and 1.

Quarterfinals: Reedy def Donovan 5 and 4, A Wright def Neill 1-up, Solomann def R Wright 1-up, W Brown def H Brown on the 19th.