North Harbour's Lydia Ko, fellow amateur Zoe Brake (Whakatane) and Wellington professional Sarah Nicholson were the leading local golfers in the New Zealand Women's Open at Pegasus Town, near Christchurch yesterday.
The trio are one under 71, six shots behind leader Norwegian Marianne Skarpnord, after the first round.
Ko, 12,
was poised to be the leading New Zealander with two holes to play when she was two under, but a double bogey five at the eighth (her 17th) dropped her back to par before she sank a 4m downhill putt for a birdie on the par 5 final hole.
She has recently got New Zealand citizenship and the dual North Island amateur champion will make her debut in the Trans Tasman Cup International against Australia at Royal Wellington Golf Club in late March.
Brake was two down early but two birdies, another bogey and an eagle at the par 5 ninth had her out in 35. She had two birdies and two bogeys on the back nine.
She mixed six birdies with five bogeys and after dropping a shot at the second, birdied the third, fifth and seventh holes to turn in three-under 33, but she battled on some of the harder holes on the back nine which she played. After bogeys at 10, 12 and 14, she rallied strongly with birdies at 15 and 17 before missing a birdie putt from 1.5m at the last.
- NZPA
