Golf: Kiwi pair fail to nail their advantage at last hole

New Zealand chose a stunning location to at first scale and then tumble down one of golf's tallest peaks and concede the World Cup teams event in dramatic fashion in Japan last night.

With a snowladen Mt Fuji providing a majestic backdrop, David Smail and Michael Campbell needed to birdie the 474m final hole to win their country's first World Cup title since the event's inception 53 years ago.

The par-five hole, considered one of the easier challenges at the Taiheiyo Club at Gotemba City, had moments earlier coughed up an eagle three to South Africa and would do the same again when American superstar Tiger Woods pulled out a spectacular chip and run from off the green.

But the New Zealanders could manage only a par five after Campbell's fairway wood second shot skewed to the left, consigning them to a four-way playoff with Denmark, South Africa and the United States.

The challenge of second and third-round leaders New Zealand as well as the glamour United States team of world No 1 Woods and world No 2 David Duval ended on the first playoff hole when both pieced together scratchy pars against the birdies of South Africans Ernie Els and Retief Goosen and Denmark's Thomas Bjorn and Soren Hansen.

South Africa won their fourth World Cup crown at the next hole.

It was a cruel finale for the New Zealanders who entered the $US3 million ($7.27 million) tournament considered rank outsiders only to shock observers by setting the pace.

Campbell, with a world ranking of 30, was in familiar company, but the selection of Japan-based Smail raised eyebrows when the team were announced this year.

Boasting a modest world ranking of 136, Smail, 31, more than held his end up as the New Zealand team entered the final round of foursomes yesterday with a three-stroke cushion on Woods and Duval.

While the United States loomed as the obvious danger yesterday, it wasn't until the last four holes they hit their straps to join the playoff with closing scores of three, three, two and three.

It was Denmark and South Africa who had given Smail and Campbell the biggest scare as they shot seven-under 65 and six-under 66, respectively, to peg back the New Zealanders' lead.

Smail and Campbell cobbled together a respectable 70 but that wasn't low enough.

Woods and Duval, the defending champions, looked consigned to bit-part roles before they got on a late roll, capped by Woods' magical touch from the rough around the 18th.

New Zealand Open promoters would have been delighted at the sight of Woods and the two New Zealanders sharing the fairway in the final round in Japan.

Smail is the reigning New Zealand Open champion while Campbell won the crown in 2000. Organisers hope they will push Woods hard when he competes at Paraparaumu Beach in January.

- NZPA