KEY POINTS:
Tauranga horse trainer Jared Pender showed he was a good bet, boosting New Zealand's chances after the second round of the Eisenhower Trophy world amateur team golf championships in Adelaide yesterday.
The 25-year-old rookie fired a brilliant five-under 67 to advance New Zealand to third place midway through
the biennial championships.
New Zealand, sixth overnight, finished on nine-under after two rounds, to be in sole possession of third place. They trail joint leaders USA and Scotland who finished on 17-under.
Sweden are in fourth place one shot behind the Kiwis, with Wales fifth on seven-under with hosts Australia, who fired a seven-under 137 at Grange, moving to sixth place on six-under. England, Spain and Argentina are in joint seventh place on four-under, a shot ahead of France, Netherlands and South Africa.
Scotland and Argentina enjoyed the best efforts of the day both bagging nine-under rounds for the two best counting scores, with the Scots producing their effort on the tougher Royal Adelaide course.
Pender, who started with a bogey after missing a tap-in, never put a foot wrong after that with six birdies four of them on his second nine holes including two long putts on the last two holes.
World No 1 ranked amateur Danny Lee managed a one-under 71 after looking out of sorts while James Gill had the non-counting one-over 73 at Grange Golf Course.
The freshening winds that blew early in the morning died out on the links-like coastal course with hot conditions with the greens firming up, which made approach shots a real challenge.
Starting at the 10th hole, the New Zealanders began poorly to be collectively four-over after only three holes. They edged their way back to be two-under after nine holes but Pender's brilliance proved the difference, showing few of the nerves from the first round.
"I was still a bit nervous and a bit annoyed after that start. I told my caddy after missing that tap-in that I was not going to make another bogey. And I didn't," Pender said.
"I am really happy with the way I played in the main although I can still do better. I was one-over for the par-5s today and so there was probably another two or three shots left out there.
"I did make a couple of bombs but I still need to do some work on my short putts. Overall I was really patient, kept the ball in play and hit some irons really close today. It was great."
Lee said the only pleasing part of his day was holding it together in red figures for the team effort.
He started with two bogeys but turned at one-under after nine holes before sharing two bogeys with two birdies coming home.
"It was pretty awful. My driving and my putting really let me down. I kept putting myself in some really bad positions and then did not make anything on the greens," Lee said.
Gill said he was disappointed he could not contribute to the team's cause but feels they are well placed going into the weekend.
"I just could not put it together and I left a lot of putts out there. Jared was great today and we are right in their without either Danny or myself firing yet. I can feel my game is really close. Here's hoping it is tomorrow."
New Zealand will tee off in the final grouping with USA and Scotland at Grange today with the final round on Royal Adelaide tomorrow.
