With nine holes left Swedish golfer Daniel Chopra was on track yesterday to follow countryman Niclas Fasth as the New Zealand Open champion.
Chopra was showing the class which had him make 22 cuts from 33 starts including a runner-up finish on the PGA Tour this year.
He
birdied five of his opening seven holes to stalk the leaders who were yet to hit off in the turbulent conditions.
Then Gulf Harbour bit back. Chopra had one more birdie but the course extracted five bogeys from the Swede as he slid back into the pack.
"I had it going there, I wanted to give myself a chance and did," Chopra said. "I got a few bad breaks in the middle and I think the 14th was where I finally lost my chance.
"I hit one of the best short irons I hit all day, a sand wedge which was right on the pin and if it was an inch short I would be exaggerating."
The ball stopped and spun back into a bunker, Chopra bogeyed and followed with two more and his title shot was gone.
Chopra's tale of woe was a familiar line from the majority of the field, in contrast to Nathan Green who charged early and held on.
The Australian's surge and the others' demise meant Green had to cancel a mid-afternoon cab he had booked to take him to the airport. But it did allow him to sample another steak and cheese pie which he had found to his taste during the tournament.
"I got off to a fast start and managed to keep it going," said Green. "Finishing five under was a lot better than I expected. It is a good course, I like the front nine though there are a couple on the back I do not like so much."
Chopra was even more enthusiastic about the course and planned to persuade more of his European mates to venture down for the next Open.
"This course is designed to be played in the wind. It makes you play a variety of shots and from the time I first saw it, I thought it would suit me.
"It depends on my schedule next year, I have a busy year on the PGA but I would love to return because I also think this country is fantastic."
