Nelson's Blair Riordan has won the Bay of Plenty Open with a strong showing on the final day.
Leading from day one, Rotorua's Ruel Pedersen couldn't quite hold it together yesterday at the Whakatane Golf Club to pull off an upset, despite perfect conditions, being three under and sharing the lead
with Brad Kendall. Both leaders, along with Tauranga's Hayden Beard, capitulated to give Riordan a well deserved win with a 72 and 71 for his final two rounds to go one under.
Beard had his chance on the last hole to go into a shoot out with Riordan but missed a 1m putt to finish even for the tournament and equal second with Cameron Jones, Luke Toomey and Peter Lee. Kendall was disappointed with his final two rounds after carding a 68 and 66 on Friday and Saturday. He finished the final two rounds with a 73 and 74 to finish sixth overall.
Rotorua Boys High School Golfing Academy and Waiariki Academy of Sport director of golf Dominic Sainsbury said Pedersen had gained a wealth of experience from the open.
"He had a bad couple of holes and it cost him but he said it was a 'huge learning curve' and he just panicked instead of staying in the moment."
Pedersen, who carded a 66 on day one and two, ended yesterday with a 75 and 76 to finish eighth.
Sainsbury said the tournament had been a huge success with the course bringing its challenges to all the competitors. "The course played very fair and the greens were lightning fast, which tripped a couple of golfers up."
The round of the day went to women's champion Chantelle Cassidy, who shot three under the card to steal the title from Whakatane's Zoe Brake. However, Brake, who took leave from playing golf to pursue a career in the armed forces, showed selectors she still has what it takes to wear the silver fern with a one under the card. Emily Perry was third with one over in the 72 hole tournament.
Tauranga golfer Blair Murdock claimed the Masters Championship, 14 shots ahead of David Cooke and 15 shots clear of Jason Madden. Murdock, a former winner of the Open, dominated the three-day tournament.
Results:
279: Blair Riordan (68, 68, 72, 71)
280: Cameron Jones (69, 72, 71, 68), Luke Toomey (71, 68, 73,68), Peter Lee (70, 70, 71, 69), Hayden Beard (68, 67, 73, 72)
281: Brad Kendall (68, 66, 73, 74)
282: Landyn Edwards (71, 71, 71, 69)
283: Ruel Pedersen (66, 66, 75,76)
285: Vaughan McCall (72, 70, 71, 72)
286: Craig Hamilton (73, 74, 72, 67)
287: Tae Koh (75, 72, 73, 67), Aaron Garnett (73, 72, 70, 72), Fraser Wilkin (73, 73, 69, 72), Victor Janin (72, 71, 71, 73)
288: Andrew Stewart (72, 73, 70, 73), Sam An (73, 66, 74, 75), Sam Davis (72, 71, 69, 76)
Nelson's Blair Riordan has won the Bay of Plenty Open with a strong showing on the final day.
Leading from day one, Rotorua's Ruel Pedersen couldn't quite hold it together yesterday at the Whakatane Golf Club to pull off an upset, despite perfect conditions, being three under and sharing the lead
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