Leighton James was in the thick of a scoring blitz at the $40,000 Tauranga Open yesterday.
New Zealand representative Leighton James cured his recent ills to post an eight-under 63 and a share of the first round lead in the Tauranga Open championship yesterday.
The 22-year-old bagged eight birdies without blemish and was joined by Taihape professional Hamish Robertson at the head of the
pack at the Tauranga Golf Club.
The $40,000 tournament is run under the umbrella of Golf Tour NZ.
The 119-strong field took advantage of idyllic conditions: 44 players were under par, and even-par is the current cut for the leading 60 players (plus ties) for the final two rounds.
James and Robertson hold a one-shot lead over a trio including 16-year-old Manawatu prospect Josh Munn, Arrowtown amateur Sean Roach and Cape Kidnappers greenkeeper Michael Wilson on 64.
Professional Brad Shilton shares sixth place on six-under 65 with fellow Hamiltonian Mathew Perry.
North Island amateur champion Nick Gillespie shares eighth place on five-under 66 with Australian-based professional Martin Pettigrew and Taranaki international Troy Ropiha.
New Zealand amateur match play champion Danny Lee (Rotorua) is in a group of eight players on 67.
James (The Grange) had been disappointed with his recent form but an experiment on the practice range sparked his round.
"I've been playing like a dog lately," he said.
"It's been back to the drawing board for me and my coach Stuart Reese. Luckily the New Zealand selectors picked their teams a bit earlier otherwise I might not have made it."
James will play in the Four Nations Cup competition at the Barwon Heads Golf Club in Victoria next month.
"I've been working really hard. Today I tried something on the range and it felt great. And it worked today. I really flushed it close all day and made quite a few 3m putts."
Robertson fired 10 birdies in his round. After reaching five-under at the 10th, he dropped two shots before a white-hot run in which he birdied the last five holes.
- NZPA
