Golf: Tataurangi puts cup on hold

New Zealand golfer Philip Tataurangi is prepared to defer his Dunhill Cup debut for at least a year.

Tataurangi was yesterday named alongside Frank Nobilo and Greg Turner in the New Zealand team for the annual 16-nation tournament at St Andrews in Scotland on October 7-10.

However, he won't commit himself to playing in Scotland until after the BC Open in New York on Monday (NZ time) when he will be better placed to decide whether he can risk taking time off from the US PGA Tour.

Tataurangi's current season's earnings of $US228,142 ($431,515) place him 134th on the tour's moneylist. Just seven events now remain for him to force his way into the top 125 and guarantee himself a tour card for 2000.

He emphasised he would not place his tour card at risk by playing in the Dunhill Cup.

"Although it would be a great honour and be very exciting to play in the Dunhill Cup, first and foremost is looking after myself and my own career," Tataurangi said.

Tataurangi said he would need "a very good result" in the BC Open to feel comfortable about leaving the tour, even for a brief period.

It seems likely changes will be made to the New Zealand team, who were selected by Dunhill Cup organisers IMG (International Management Group).

Nobilo's position on the US tour is even more precarious than that of Tataurangi. He sits 153rd on the moneylist, and is in serious danger of losing his playing rights.

Nobilo, an IMG client, could not be reached for comment, but it is conceivable he will withdraw from the cup side to concentrate solely on holding his tour card.

Until this year New Zealand's highest ranked player, Nobilo has missed the cut in 11 of 24 US tour tournaments in 1999. His world ranking, which peaked at 21 in 1997, is now a modest 185, behind Turner at 63, Michael Campbell at 178 and Tataurangi at 184.

Campbell, like Turner, is based on the European tour, and appeals as a logical replacement for Nobilo should he decline the invitation to appear at his 13th Dunhill Cup tournament since 1985.

Meanwhile, Tataurangi hopes to maintain the form which has earned him two top-10 placings in the last two weeks.

That represented a sharp change in fortune for Tataurangi, who has missed the cut 16 times in 23 tournaments this year.

Despite his struggles, he lies third in putting statistics, making an average of 28.05 putts per round, to trail only David Frost and Payne Stewart in that department.

Tataurangi questions the significance of those figures though.

"I think it comes down to the fact that I've been missing more greens in regulation than I did in the past."

He's right. He has hit just 58.6 per cent of greens in regulation, a mediocre return which places him 178th on tour in that area. - NZPA