By BOB PEARCE
He played his first New Zealand Open in 1954 and he rather fancies the idea of playing his last in 2004.
But there was nothing of the veteran in Bob Charles' golf as he shot a two-under 68 at The Grange yesterday a few weeks short of his 65th birthday.
And when he lowered his lean frame into a chair in the media centre for a post-round interview, he had earned the attention as one of the leaders on a day when most of the field struggled to better par.
"What do you want?" he asks the journalists, most of whom were not born when he won his first NZ Open as an amateur in 1954.
As if he didn't know.
He may be Sir Bob now, but years of fencing with the media have turned the monosyllabic Kiwi of his early years into a seasoned performer with a dry wit.
Today has been something of a return to the glory days when he was the guy you wanted putting for your life.
"I got quite a lot out of a few bad shots and some good putting," he says. "It was my best round this year."
Not difficult, that.
He's only played five or six rounds of preparation for the tournament and he admits his swing is a bit rusty.
But the putting is sharp. He started on the 10th and reached the turn two over.
Then the putter ran hot. He birdied the first from seven feet, then saved his par with a 45-footer on the third after a couple of duck hooks in the fairway.
He was back to square on the sixth after reaching the par-five in two, birdied the seventh from 20 feet, saved par on the eighth from 44 feet and sank a 20-footer for birdie on his last hole.
All this from a man with a left shoulder which may need surgery.
No problem, his doctor had given him a tiny pill which has fixed the pain.
Would he fail a drug test?
"I'm innocent," he pleads with a smile."I've just taken what's prescribed.
"You should blame my doctor."
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