Brad Kennedy said on the eve of the fourth round of the New Zealand Open that he would be aggressive on the final day and that attitude paid off as he claimed the crown in a playoff over fellow Australian Craig Parry yesterday.
The 37-year-old Queenslander birdied the par-four 18th hole of the Clearwater course in Christchurch, which was used for the playoff, after 2002 champion Parry let a two-shot lead slip during the back nine of the final round.
Parry put his tee shot on the playoff hole in to the bunker and while he found the green in three, Kennedy was there in two and drained a 35-foot putt to ensure his name would be engraved on the Brodie Breeze trophy.
Kennedy said he didn't want to give Parry a chance to force an extra playoff hole.
"I backed him to hole that putt, so I knew I had to make it,'' he said of his winning stroke.
"Which is probably a good thing that I didn't try and two putt it. I felt, well, if you are going to do it, hole it on your own terms.
"To make a birdie when it counted; that's why we play golf.''
Kennedy had a share of the tournament lead after the first day and after negotiating a north-east breeze for the first three days, a southerly blew through the course on the final day.
"I've never gone wire to wire. Most of my good finishes have been coming from behind. So it was a little bit of a different feeling. Obviously the late start, to wake up at nine o'clock and trying to fill in five or six hours before I got ready wasn't easy. But I just kept doing what I needed to do. I stayed fairly aggressive all through the day. It was just the breeze switch from yesterday, which made the front nine quite tough.''
Heading in to the final few holes the tournament remained up for grabs with Kennedy, Parry and Kiwi Josh Geary all making claims.
On the 18th hole, Parry produced a poor tee shot and followed up with a second that went in to the water alongside the fairway.
His fourth shot from the rough wasn't easy but he put it on the green, but a nasty two putt left him with a three-under par 69, which dropped him to seven under for the tournament courtesy of the double bogey.
Kennedy began the day with a three-shot lead and while he had a chance to win it outright with a 20-foot putt on the last hole, he left it short, which forced the playoff.
He carded a 74 for the day, which was his worst round of the tournament courtesy of three bogeys and a birdie.
Geary had a birdie putt on 17 to pull another back down the stretch, but his ball rolled just wide of the cup.
His tee shot on the challenging 18th hole also found the water and although he recovered well, he two-putted to finish with a bogey and an even-par 72 and outright third place at six-under the card for the week.
Kennedy pocketed $94,615 for his efforts, which just added to an impressive year for the right-hander who produced some consistent play on the Japanese Tour.
Little-known Australian Rohan Blizard capped a consistent week with a one-under 71 to claim fourth spot and looked impressive with the way he struck the ball throughout the tournament.
Kiwi contender Doug Holloway fired a one-under 71 and finished the tournament at one under the card in a tie for 12th, but was left to rue a disappointing third round of 76, which hurt his chances.
Otago professional Mahal Pearce, the last Kiwi to win the New Zealand Open in 2003, finished in a share of ninth after he carded a one-under 71 on the final day.
He was the second-best of the New Zealanders, one ahead of Holloway, while Cantabrian Carl Brooking finished in a tie for 20th at three-over the card.
Australian Jake Higginbottom, who at one stage held a share of the lead during the tournament, finished with a four-over 76 to be four over for the event, but was the best-placed amateur in the field in a tie for 22nd.
The best-placed Kiwi amateurs were Southland's Vaughan McCall and Timaru's Tim Leonard, who finished at nine over in a tie for 45th, while Aucklander Ryan Fox was one shot further back at 10 over in a share of 52nd.
- Daniel Richardson of APNZ
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