KEY POINTS:
Ice cold water was the key to Peter Fowler producing red-hot golf yesterday.
The former New Zealand Open winner left The Hills in a filthy mood on Friday night after finishing his second round double-bogey, double-bogey, bogey.
Those final three holes meant Fowler slumped from five-under to even
par so when he returned to the home of fellow professional Greg Turner that night, he jumped into Lake Wakatipu.
"I swam 100m in the lake," said Fowler. "I usually have an ice bath after I play anyway so that was a bit more fun than sitting in a bath.
"After about 100m it started to hurt but I felt pretty good."
He obviously felt more than pretty good yesterday morning as he proceeded to burn the course up - shooting a course record 62.
The 48-year-old New Zealand-based Australian just had one of those days when he fell deep into the zone and didn't emerge into the real world until his birdie putt on the 18th lipped the hole.
Starting the day at even par he was out well before the wind picked up and nabbed two birdies in the first three holes with another two on the outward nine.
He followed with one on 10, another on 11 and sank a 25-footer for eagle on the 13th to charge up the leader board.
When he went 10-under on the 17th, just as leader Steven Bowditch was making his way to the first tee on the same score, there was an overwhelming sense the eventual winner would be someone who had won it before.
There was Bob Charles cruising along like a man half his age, while Michael Long was in splendid touch.
But it was Fowler who had everyone talking. "I hit some wild shots but I got away with them," he said.
"I needed a good round, to be aggressive starting so far behind the leaders. I was in a good, positive state of mind.
"If you drive it well on this course there are a lot of wedge shots to the green but if you don't drive well you can be stuffed."
Fowler, who won the New Zealand Open at Paraparaumu in 1993, was certain he would be heading back to the lake for another dip.
After the season he's had, he needs to keep his body fresh. Early success on the Asian Tour saw him re-focus on playing some more there while he continued with his European Tour commitments.
As a consequence he's not had a break since May so it will be a major effort for him to reproduce his third round form today.
"It's kind of hard to explain to the average golfer. You can play exactly the same way and shoot 62 or 72. The score is not a true reflection of how you played.
"But I can remember a tournament in France where I shot a 62 one day and followed that up with a 64."