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POVERTY BAY GOLF PRO AM 2009
Doug Holloway receives the winner's cheque from Electrinet representative
Stu Blair at the conclusion of the Electrinet Poverty Bay Golf Pro Am for 2009.
Holloway wins his second Pro-Am
Gisborne Herald
Tuesday, 24 March 2009
By John Hill
Hawke's Bay’s Doug Holloway loves playing at Poverty Bay Golf Club . . . and so he should, after winning his second Pro-Am here yesterday and with it a cheque for $2000 and valuable points on the order of merit.
The 25-year-old, who won the tournament in 2007, finished with a 67 in the Electrinet Pro-Am, one ahead of Scott Hill and two shots clear of Jon Bevitt and Richard Anderson.
“I played all right, made one bogey, dropped one shot and hit six birdies,” said Holloway, who two years ago finished 10-under when the event was played over two rounds.
“It was windy for most of the day but the course is great and it’s always good to play here.
“It’s hard to know where you are (in terms of the leaderboard) when you’re playing. You can guess but you don’t really know until you get into the clubhouse. But I was happy with 67.
“It was a solid effort and I knew it would be close.”
Holloway is back in action on Thursday and Friday in a Hastings Pro-Am tournament.
Local Pro-Am organiser Dave Keown suggested before the event that the course record would fall but a strong south- westerly made life difficult around the triangle at the back for the 33 professionals hoping to pocket some of the $10,000 up for grabs in the 18-hole strokeplay championship.
“The reality for a course like this is that for the record (66) to go, you need ideal conditions,” Keown said.
“Once the wind comes up it’s on the course’s side, not the players’, but the quality of the field showed through with 13 players on par or better.”
Despite playing what he said was his worst round this year, Grant Moorhead, a former New Zealand amateur strokeplay champion on the Bay course and one tipped as a possible winner this year, was another who praised the event and the course.
“I really enjoy playing here,” said Moorhead, who finished seven shots behind Holloway.
“The course is great and the greens are brilliant.
“The wind made it tricky at times. The downhill putts became faster but that’s all part of the sport.
“Probably the biggest disappointment for me is I’m close to playing well and that’s frustrating.
“I drove well and when you do that you generally score well, but I’m just not making my putts.
“I’m averaging around two birdies a round over my last six rounds, which is not good considering my positions off the tee.”
Keown, who along with the greenkeeping staff set out a course regarded as a balanced test of skill, was rapt with yet another successful event.
“The course presentation was fantastic and it was a brilliant field of young up-and-coming professionals,” Keown said.
“This is the fourth time we’ve run the event and we’re improving all the time.”
The Pro-Am teams section was won by Scott Hill, Neil Mackie, Allan White and Mark Kennedy with 52 points.
The Eastland Bearings team of Marcus Wheelhouse (pro), Rob Johnston, Phil Grogan and Bernie Rothschild won Sunday’s Ambrose with a net score of 23.69 points.
“They shot eight birdies and an eagle for 10-under over nine holes,” Keown said.
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