Bowditch in front

By Martin Davidson of NZPA in Auckland
Young Australian Steven Bowditch is nearing that zone golfers whisper about.
Bowditch wants to keep his head down and not tempt fate after a golden run which he extended yesterday by becoming the sole first-round leader of the $1.5 million New Zealand Open at a sun drenched Gulf Harbour Country Club north of Auckland.
On the back of a career-turning series of results before Christmas, the Queenslander stormed home with an eight-under-par 64 on a day of red hot scoring to head a field stacked with class in the Open's maiden appearance as a European and Australasian co-sanctioned event.
He has a one-stroke buffer over a quintet of challengers ? Swedish trio Niclas Fasth, Chris Hanell and Joakim Haeggman, Australian Simon Nash and Scotsman Alastair Forsyth.
The leaderboard has a distinctly sunburnt complexion, with 116 players in red figures after a day of subterranean scoring on a Whangaparaoa Peninsula coastal course left defenceless by the absence of wind.
Until late in the afternoon when a cooling breeze arrived, little more than a zephyr fanned the players, who lapped up benign conditions as the course coughed up a stroke average of 70.
There are 25 players within three shots of Bowditch, as a big group were together on 66, among them Welshman Garry Houston, South African Martin Maritz, Englishman Oliver Wilson, Swede Pierre Fulke and Australians Jarrod Moseley and Adam Groom.
There were another 11 on 67, including four Australians in Kim Felton, Andrew McKenzie, Jason Dawes and Paul Sheehan, Dutchman Rolf Muntz and Japan's Sato Nobuhito.
The leading New Zealander was Auckland teaching professional Stuart Malcolmson with a round of 67.
For Bowditch, 21, of Queensland, yesterday continued a rich vein of form after he stored the clubs 12 months ago when he grew disillusioned with his game.
He ignored the game totally for eight weeks before friends cajoled him out of his shell and encouraged him to re-emerge on the minor Troppo Tour in Queensland as well as a series of pro-ams in the sunshine state.
What followed has renewed Bowditch's faith in himself as he won the Queensland Open on the secondary Von Nida Tour last November before finishing third in the Australian Open later the same month and then fourth in the Australian Masters in December.
"I was having a tough time of it at this time last year. I just didn't feel like playing golf," Bowditch said in the afterglow of a round which contained 10 birdies and two bogeys.
"It all started to come together again late last year and now I'm just wanting to keep the ball rolling and see where it takes me."
It took him atop the Open leaderboard yesterday on the back of accurate driving as he found 10 of 14 fairways with the big stick.
"My driving is in really good shape so I'll go out there and continue to hit it hard," he said after taking full toll of pleasant morning conditions before spending this afternoon fishing while the later starters sweated it out on the course.
Fasth revelled on the sloping Gulf Harbour greens where he required just 24 putts to negotiate his way around the course.
Fasth's only stumble came on the par-three eighth when his five iron from the tee finished in a plugged lie in a greenside bunker, leading to a bogey.
Forsyth was immaculate, going out in 33 and home in 32 without a bogey against his name, while Hanell had nine birdies against one hiccup, a bogey five at the ninth.
Nash and Haeggman joined them on 65 late in the day, the Swede boosted by a birdie two on the 15th when he sunk a sliding 35-foot putt.
Haeggman also birdied the 17th when he stuck his approach to within 2m of the pin to join Bowditch at eight-under but promptly bogeyed the last when his eight iron approach flew the green.
The ball careered into a corporate tent and he was allowed a free drop but could not get up and down to save par. ? NZPA