Golf: Prugh swoops on field with eagle double

American Alex Prugh shot two eagles on his way to winning the NZ Open in Queenstown yesterday. Photo / Getty Images

Local hopes were dashed but there was no denying the New Zealand Open golf championship found a worthy winner yesterday.

Unheralded American Alex Prugh produced the round of his brief life to grab the lion's share of the US$600,000 ($1.1 million) purse.

Prugh won US$108,000 for his first career title in just his second season on the Nationwide Tour circuit, leaving his rivals grasping at thin air as he distanced himself.

Two eagles studded his round in ideal conditions at The Hills on the outskirts of Arrowtown, as he holed out with a pitching wedge from the rough on the eighth before draining a difficult 25-foot on the par-five 17th.

In between he was all class, save for a lone bogey on the seventh hole.

Prugh, 24, signed for a tournament card of 19-under 269, three ahead of compatriot Martin Piller, the third round leader, who closed with a 68. Jim Herman completed the trifecta for the United States, his 68 leaving him on 274.

Two shots back were a group of six containing pugnacious New Zealander Josh Geary, who battled back after a mid-round meltdown to graft his way to a 71.

It netted him close to US$21,000 after he had entered the championship needing US$6000 to earn a promotion from the Canadian Tour to the second tier Nationwide Tour in the US.

Geary's companions on 276 included the Australian quartet of Andrew Bonhomme, 66, Stephen Dartnall, 68, Peter Senior, 68, and Craig Parry, 69. American Jeff Gove completed the grouping with a 70.

Yesterday had again dawned brilliantly fine with expectations high for a New Zealand champion to follow on the heels of Steve Alker's victory in the New Zealand PGA Championship in Christchurch a week ago.

But they melted in the Central Otago heat as Alker and Grant Waite went backwards while Geary scrambled, scrapped and clawed his way through.

Waite, bidding for his first tournament win in 16 years, rocketed up the leaderboard on Saturday on the back of some hot putting and his third round of 66 had him starting yesterday in a tie for second.

But his flat stick was in a sinfully bad mood, his problems clear from the outset when he three-putted the first and third greens en route to a 76 which saw him tumble to 29th on 281.

He was one behind David Smail, who signed off with a 69, a number repeated by Michael Long, who was 22nd on 279, one behind Alker, 71, who shared 13th place.

But it was Prugh who won all the kudos - deservedly so, too.

"The eighth really kick-started my round," Prugh said.

"The only time I really felt comfortable was between 16 and 17.

"On 17 I hit two awesome shots and made a great putt."

Prugh said his principle plan heading to The Hills yesterday morning was to keep bogeys off his card.

He failed in that regard, but he succeeded in every other way.

"At the beginning of the day I thought a 67 would put me in the hunt."

- NZPA