Leading coach Mal Tongue says Wellington's Bradley Iles is setting a benchmark for New Zealand golf, despite a crushing defeat in the Australian amateur championship final in Perth.
Iles could not recover from a shocking start against Scotland's Jack Doherty - the New Zealander lost nine of the first 10 holes
- and eventually went down 5 and 4.
The 19-year-old would have been only the second New Zealander to win Australia's premier amateur crown; world No 24 Michael Campbell won it in 1992.
But Tongue, who coached Campbell as an amateur, said Iles was ahead of his countryman at the same stage of his career.
"I got Michael Campbell when he was 19 and he wasn't shooting these sorts of scores."
Iles has shot three competition rounds of 63 this year, including course records at the Riversdale Cup in Melbourne and at his home course, Manor Park, at the Wellington strokeplay championship.
"Guys like Bradley and Matt Holten are setting some new benchmarks for New Zealand golf," Tongue said.
"First and foremost he [Iles] is learning to shoot some really low scores. That's quite a big hurdle to cross for an amateur. To shoot 69 [is good], but he has had three 63s in just over a month."
Tongue's view was shared by Phil Aicken, the operations manager of New Zealand Golf, who said Iles' three rounds of 63 were "staggering," especially the round at the Riversdale Cup.
"Everybody has played there, including ... Greg Norman and Aaron Baddeley, so he has certainly taken himself to the next tier."
Iles was only the fifth New Zealander to make the final of the Australian amateur, and the first since New Zealand Open champion Mahal Pearce in 1999.
But there was no fairytale finish. Iles rallied to be six down at the halfway stage of the 36-hole final, but could not make up for the disastrous start.
A lunchtime text message from coach Tongue urged him to "dig in" and he did just that, winning the 19th hole to close to five.
But the 20-year-old Canberra-born Doherty, who last year represented Scotland at the Eisenhower Trophy, immediately struck back, winning three of the next five to make it virtually impossible for Iles.
Needing to win eight of the last 12 holes to force a playoff, Iles won three, but the match finished four holes early when he ran out of time at five-down.
- NZPA
