KEY POINTS:
Not since Michael Campbell's stellar performances in 2005 has there been such a magic day for New Zealand golf.
Last night 33-year old kiwi golfer Mark Brown - hardly a household name - took out the prestigious Johnnie Walker Classic in India after a scorching final nine holes
saw him sweep past all others on the leaderboard.
It has been said that a golfer's place in the world is readily seen by the company he keeps.
If true, Brown knew he must be doing all right last Thursday when he was grouped alongside Colin Montgomerie and Liang Wen-chong for the opening round of the Classic.
Seventy-two holes later and eight-time European No 1, Montgomerie and the 2007 Asian Tour order of merit winner from China became but a distant blur for Brown when he won the US$2.5 million tri-sanctioned event on the outskirts of New Delhi.
A closing round of five-under-par 67 left Brown with a tournament card of 18-under 270 and three-shots clear atop the leaderboard, the winner's cheque of US$409,743 ($508,000) promoting him from third to first on the Asian Tour's moneylist with income this season of US$537,833.
Brown's success also earned him exempt status on the European Tour until the end of 2010, which means more regular sightings of Montgomerie and a major overhaul of his playing schedule.
Brown did not have time to fully digest the ramifications of the result because he was booked on an evening flight from New Delhi to Kuala Lumpur where he will contest the Malaysia Open starting on Thursday.
Nevertheless, he immediately knew that his place in golf's pecking order had altered dramatically when he won his second successive Asian Tour event, following a maiden career win in the inaugural Sail Open in New Delhi a week earlier.
"To have the security of a major tour is just fantastic," Brown said of his upcoming European commitments, barely comprehending the fact that he has now become the new poster boy for those who have triumphed after falling upon lean times.
The tall Wellingtonian is less than 18 months into his comeback on the professional circuit after he gave the game away altogether in 2003 following eight years of toil, trouble and more than his share of heartbreak.
Now, all of a sudden, he has outgrown Asia and Europe beckons ever so brightly.
"The Asian Tour has been a great stepping stone for me over the last 18 months but I'm definitely looking at Europe now," he said.
There were few signs yesterday that Brown's rapid progress shows any signs of reaching a plateau.
He thrust himself into contention on Saturday with a third round of 64 which contained two eagle threes as well as three bogeys, and began the last round in a share of second place, one back of overnight leader Taichiro Kiyota, of Japan.
Kiyota at one stage lengthened his advantage to four strokes before stumbling on the back nine when Brown pounced, a run of four successive pars from the 12th hole fuelling his charge before another birdie at the par-five last ended his tournament with an exclamation mark.
Brown eventually ended three ahead of Kiyota and Australians Scott Strange and Greg Chalmers in the European, Asian and Australasian Tour sanctioned tournament.
Brown said the past fortnight had been a blur and he would need time to consider his immediate future.
He would of course take up his playing privileges in Europe but he appreciated the opportunities he's had on the Asian Tour for the past 15 months and he wanted to continue to support that circuit where he could.
Brown became just the sixth New Zealander to win a European Tour event after Michael Campbell, Frank Nobilo, Sir Bob Charles, Greg Turner and John Lister.
He said his four-shot win in the Sail Open stood him in good stead yesterday.
"I think the experience I had last week made it easier for me today.
"I played terrible the front side. I don't think I hit a fairway or green, and I got to the 10th and said to myself 'let's have a solid nine holes', and the birdies started falling. The rest is a dream."
It was a dream he awoke from in a cold sweat at the last after he rushed his swing and clunked a six-iron approach shot, narrowly carrying the water hazard and coming to rest an easy two-putt away from the hole.
"It was the worst shot I've hit since I was 14. It was totally out of the heel (of the club) and so thin I thought it was completely in the water. Luckily, I had enough club and it must have just scraped over. It was quite a relief after that."
- NZPA
