Golf: Australians share lead after first round at Middlemore

By BOB PEARCE

For a man who professes no special liking for Auckland, Queenslander Craig Jones seems to prosper here.

Yesterday he shot a six-under 66 to share the first-round lead in the New Zealand Open at Middlemore.

In 1994, he won the Open at Remuera, his only victory on the Australasian PGA tour.

The 33-year-old played yesterday morning when sunny skies, only a breath of wind and forgiving greens promoted low scoring in front of an impressive first-day gallery of around 5000.

Late in the day Victorian Alan Patterson also came in with a 66, putting like a demon on greens that had become bumpy in traffic.

Next back was another Queenslander, Chris Downes, 23, who was six-under coming to the 18th but bogeyed the last for 67.

First of the Kiwis in a group of seven on 68 were United States-based amateur Brad Heaven and fledgling pros Eddie Lee and Carl Brooking.

Of the tournament star names, Michael Campbell and David Smail were on 69, Philip Tataurangi and Grant Waite on 71, Michael Long on 72 and Frank Nobilo on 73.

Amazingly, Jones and Patterson both had double bogeys on their cards. Starting on the ninth, Jones was three under after five, but found the rough and a bad lie in a sand trap on the next to drop back to one under.

He played his last 10 holes five under, capitalising on some immaculate approach play. His longest successful putt in this stretch was from 10 foot for a birdie on his last hole.

"I played a bit last week, but this was the first tournament since the Japanese qualifying tournament late last year. I would have been happy with even par because there's a fair bit of rust still in my game."

Jones, who was 23rd in the Australasian order of merit last season, has qualified for the Japanese tour.

The 28-year-old Patterson has recently switched to a belly putter and it has clearly paid off.

He sank two 30-footers to kick-start his round, gave them back with a double, but then marched on, sinking putts from everywhere.

"The greens were getting bumpy," he said, "but when your confidence is up you don't worry about the bumps."

Heaven, playing one group behind Jones, was five under at halfway and six under with two to play.

But a four-putt double bogey on a par three reduced an outstanding round to merely very good.

Lee, runnerup in the amateur championship on this course last April, also had one bad hole, the 327m 12th, where he hit his second into the trees and dropped two shots.

Brooking, who has lost his playing card for the Australasian tour, had five birdies and a bogey.

Starting on the ninth, Campbell, who had been critical of the 17th and 18th holes in the leadup to the tournament, found them to his liking as he birdied four holes in a row to go to five under after 10 holes.

But he missed a six-footer to bogey the next and lost momentum. He had a bad swing off the tee on the sixth, putting his ball into the scrub and settling for a double-bogey six. He birdied his last hole for 69.

"At five under after 10 I was chugging along nicely," he said.

"I think perhaps I began to think too far ahead of myself."

Smail started slowly but finished strongly, with birdies on his last two holes for his 69.

Tataurangi had an eagle on the 476m 17th, mixed with two bogeys and a birdie. Nobilo, playing under an injury cloud, was one under with four to play, but a double bogey on the next spoiled a steady round. How did it go? 73. How do you feel? 73.

The full field of 156 will play another round before the cut to 60 and ties.