A coaching session on Avondale Racecourse from a former pro helped Christchurch professional Tony Christie to a one-under 70 during the worst conditions yesterday.
Starting on the 10th hole just before 9am, Christie birdied three of his first five holes and moved to four-under after the turn, when
he sank a 10m birdie putt on the first. He dropped three shots on the way back, including a five on the ninth where he hit his second shot into the water near the green.
Christie made the cut at the Australian Open this month but was unhappy with the way he was playing and sought help from Aucklander Martin Phillips, a former professional.
"For a month and a half I'd been playing like a clown and I was really surprised to make the cut at the Open," he said. "Martin and I went to Avondale Racecourse and a soon as I'd hit a few balls Martin spotted what I was doing wrong."
The result was a composed round when others struggled. That coolness under pressure is the mark of Christie at 37 - a far cry from his often tempestuous amateur days. "I said at the start that it was going to be as hard downwind as into the wind. I played some great long irons into the par-fours. But I also missed some putts I could have made."
He has been playing the Von Nida tour in Australia and intends to have a shot at qualifying in the United States. He noted that Swedish professional Daniel Chopra, who is on the US tour, has just bought a $500,000 Lamborghini - "so I'll have somewhere to stay and a car to drive".
