Steady Holloway takes out Pro-Am

HORROR DAY: Bay Of Plenty ace Josh Geary had a shocking day at the office in the Wanganui Pro-Am, finishing well down the pack ahead of his PGA tour of China.PHOTO/STUART MUNRO 050915WCSMGOLF1

Whether rain, shine or wind, Hawke's Bay professional Douglas Holloway proved the model of consistency to win the 2015 Craigs Investment Partners Pin High Wanganui Pro-Am at the Belmont Links on Saturday afternoon.

Holloway shot identical rounds of 71 to finish on 142, one shot clear of Mt Maunganui's Hayden Beard (71 72) and overnight leader Nick Gillespie (67 76), tied for second on 143.

Gillespie would chastise himself on course for a couple of shots that did not go how he planned, unable to repeat his three under par from Friday.

All of the top performers from Friday struggled to replicate their efforts in the breezy conditions the following day, even as the clouds cleared.

Meanwhile New Plymouth's Dominic Barson went the other way, as his 75 on Day 1 was followed by Saturday's best score of 69 to climb up to a share of fourth. Canterbury's Steven Heyes followed up his 69 with a 74 to finish back in that six-player tie on 144 points.

A smiling Holloway said in the clubrooms afterwards that if the popular Wanganui Golf Club course did not present some challenges with the weather, then the visiting pros probably wouldn't know how to handle it.

"I love coming back here ... "It's always bloody tough. On the par 4s it can be hard to get a two.

"I played pretty well, I thought I was going to come up short, had a five to finish.

"It was definitely harder [conditions] today, obviously."

While left-handed, Holloway has always played golf with his right but decided to take a chance at Belmont and putt with his left for the first time at a tournament: It's something I thought about because I've never been a great putter right-handed.

"I just thought I'd give it a go and if it comes off, that's great."

It was not a great day for Bay of Plenty's Josh Geary, heading back to the PGA tour of China, his opening 73 followed by an 81 to finish well back in the pack.