Emotional win to Smith after tragedy strikes Poverty Bay Men’s Golf Open

Mark Smith with a one-handed finish off the tee. Smith overcame an emotional semifinal against friend Craig Van Der Nagel to beat William Brown 4 and 2 in the championship 16 final of the Emerre & Hathaway Poverty Bay Men's Open on the Awapuni Links course on Saturday. Photo / Paul Rickard

Tragedy overshadowed triumph as Mark Smith completed a successful defence of the Emerre & Hathaway Poverty Bay Men’s Open title on the Awapuni Links course on Saturday.

Years from now, Rotorua’s Smith possibly won’t remember a lot about his 4 and 2 defeat of William Brown in the Keiha Challenge Golf Cup Championship 16 final.

But he will never forget an emotional semifinal match against good mate and fellow Bay of Plenty masters representative Craig Van Der Nagel of Te Puke.

Overnight Friday, Van Der Nagel’s father Ian - known to most as Nagel - died in his sleep. A larger-than-life character, Nagel was known by many Gisborne people and was the brother-in-law of Awapuni Links greenkeeper Collin Jeffrey.

Van Der Nagel was drawn to face Smith - who beat him in the 2023 final - in Saturday morning’s semifinals after eliminating seven-times champion Waka Donnelly in the first round and local Marcel Campbell in the quarter-finals.

After talking with whānau, it was felt his father would have wanted Van Der Nagel to play on. So he did.

For those who knew what had happened, a lot of love and support was given over the duration of the match, which started on the composite (rearranged) course layout sensationally with a Van Der Nagel eagle.

A grieving Van Der Nagel didn’t want any favours from his friend. He wanted him to play as well as he could and Smith respectfully did under trying circumstances.

It ended with a victory to Smith - the pair embracing before Van Der Nagel left for home knowing it wouldn’t have mattered to his father whether he won or lost. It would have mattered that he played.

Meanwhile, there was another semifinal in progress.

Brown, chasing his fourth PB Open title, proved too good for Jacob Jujnovich, of Auckland club Redwood Park.

Having already beaten Jujnovich’s brother older brother Ben in the first round, Brown added Jacob’s scalp to his belt - 5 and 4.

The final perhaps appropriately pitted top qualifier Brown against No 2 seed Smith, a member of the Springfield club.

Only eight players in the 93-year history of the tournament had successfully defended the title, while Brown was vying to become the fifth man to win it four times or more - joining Frank Gordon (eight times), Eric Gordon (seven), Peter Rouse (five) and Waka Donnelly (seven).

Among the gallery in Saturday’s final was Mike Gordon (playing in the PB Open for the first time in decades), who has fond memories of caddying for his late father Frank in finals many years ago - Frank won his crowns between 1952 and 1969.

William Brown's bid to win a fourth Poverty Bay Men's Open crown on the course at which he is head greenkeeper was thwarted by defending champion Mark Smith. Photo / Paul Rickard

The 2024 final started in hiss-and-roar fashion. Brown and Smith exchanged birdies on the par-5 first and Brown also made birdie on the par-3 second.

And when he monstered a 310-metre-plus drive off the third tee to within 30m of the green and Smith chunked his second shot, it looked like being Brown’s day.

To quote a well-used sporting phrase particularly applicable to golf ... ”it’s a funny old game.”

Brown skinned his second shot through the green and the pair ended up halving the hole in bogey-5s.

From there, Brown’s game got uncharacteristically loose.

A superb second shot from Smith on the fourth, contrasted by a poor approach from Brown, saw the match go back to square.

They halved the fifth in pars, the sixth in bogeys and a Smith par on the seventh, after Brown pushed his second shot wide right and could not up and down, gave Smith a lead he would never concede.

Brown made a great par-saving putt from off the green on the eighth to stay 2-down but 3-putted the ninth, then did the same on the 10th to go 3-down.

Errant drives by Smith on the 11th and 12th led to him losing both holes but just as Brown had got himself back into the match, a poor drive left on the 13th, and another three-putt for double bogey 6, handed his opponent back the advantage.

Perhaps the killer blow came on the 14th - a short par-4 Brown could easily drive, only for him to push his ball into a recently-installed bunker.

Smith played a delightful pitch and slotted the resulting two-metre putt for birdie, which Brown could not match.

The 15th was halved in pars and at dormie 3-down, Brown pulled his drive into the trees, failed to get out first time and when he missed a lengthy putt for par - Smith was on in regulation - it was hats off and a handshake.

It will not go down as a classic final. Neither player lit it up after a promising start.

But matchplay is simply about having less than your opponent on each hole and sometimes it isn’t about sparkling play and birdies. Sometimes it is about making the fewest mistakes.

After an emotionally taxing morning, Smith did that and he won it for more than himself.

In other division finals among the 112-strong field - Gisborne Boys’ High student Marcus Gray (Electrinet Gisborne Park) won the second 16 and at the prizegiving was also presented (by Waka Donnelly) the Bill Donnelly Memorial as top junior performer; Hayden Keast (Poverty Bay) won the third 16; Matt Henwood (Electrinet Park) the fourth 16; Toby Williams (Tolaga Bay) the fifth 16; Bill Simpson (PB) the sixth 16 and former Poverty Bay member Manav Garewal (Hastings) the seventh 16.

The tournament action once again came to a climax with the Emerre & Hathaway BDO Gisborne $1000 Nearest to the Pin Challenge, which saw six qualifiers pit their skills against each other from 100m out on the 18th hole - the closest shot earning a $1000 Prezzy Card. Ōmokoroa member and top 16 player Richard Apanui headed off veteran Tene Goldsmith to win.

The Awapuni Links course and its greenkeeping staff earned lavish praise for the state of the course. Two of the better players in the field said the greens were the best they had ever played on.