The Holden NZ PGA Championship is set for a final round show
down with 10 players within striking distance of claiming the title.
The Holden NZ PGA Championship is set for a final round show
down with 10 players within striking distance of claiming the title.
New Zealander Josh Geary continues to draw crowds to Remuera
Golf Club, co-leading overnight, he came out firing notching up three
consecutive birdies.
Going on to fire 6-under 66, Geary had just one blemish on
his scorecard and dominated the top of the leaderboard for most of the round.
However ensuring an Aussie presence would share the lead
into the final round, Queenslander Brad Kennedy came home with four birdies to
shoot 8-under 64 and tie Geary at 17-under the card.
Kennedy has fought back from a neck injury sustained early
in the first round, which almost ruled him out of the tournament.
Also finishing with a flurry was James Nitties who went
birdie, eagle to fire 5-under 67 to be one shot back heading into the final
round.
Nitties was full of praise for the Holden NZ PGA
Championship, enjoying the crowd support for his group which also featured
Geary.
Lurking three shots off the lead is New Zealander Michael
Hendry who fired 4-under the card today.
He is aiming to join the likes of Sir Bob Charles as a three
time winner of the New Zealand PGA Championship.
Hendry is tied fourth alongside Neven Basic who fired
8-under 64 in round three, Tour Rookie Tom Power Horan (66) and Tim Hart (68).
There is a lot to play for tomorrow for Power Horan and Hart
who are yet to have a start in the ISPS BMW NZ Open next week. The leading two
and tied Professionals, not already exempt, finishing in the top-10 this week
will earn a place in next week’s field.
The final round of the Holden NZ PGA Championship will tee
off at 9am with the final group of Geary, Kennedy and Nitties on course at
Remuera at 12pm.
Josh Geary, 68,
65, 66, 17-under, T1
"It was a really good round. I got off to a great start
which really helped me. I birdied the first three holes with good putts so
momentum was in my favour. I capitalised on that, made some good swings and kept
it going."
"To win would mean a lot. Obviously winning your home PGA
is up there with winning the New Zealand Open, and you want to get your name on
those trophies as much as you can being a Kiwi. It would be huge sentimentally
and a great field to beat. It’s going to be a lot of hard work tomorrow but it
is doable."
"My game is in great shape so I’ll stick to what I have
been doing. It will take a good score but the way I’m going it’s on the cards."
Brad Kennedy, 70,
65, 64, 17-under, T1
"The breeze was totally opposite to yesterday’s so it
played a lot tougher. I hit a great shot
into the par-3 17, made birdie and holed a great putt on the 18th. To birdie
the last four in a row is a great feeling heading into tomorrow."
"I was two behind going into today and I knew I would
need at least 4-under or even five to be in contention. I saw Josh was 14-under after just a few
holes, so I just kept putting my head down and I think I’ve only missed three
greens in the last two days, so I’ve been giving myself a lot of opportunities"
"Tomorrow is going to be another hard day. It’s a great
scoring course; you can be six or seven back and still be in with a
chance. Someone has the ability to shoot
10-under around here, especially if it’s quite calm like today, so I think 22
to 25 under is going to be what it takes to win, so I am going to have to play
well tomorrow. I’ve put a new driver and a new putter in my bag so things are
starting to fall into place."
On his Neck injury: "It was the third hole of the
tournament, I hit a skinny six iron on 11 and my neck just locked up. I was
fortunate to be able to get through the day, because after about six holes I
was really in some pain. I was able to get some work done on it on Thursday
night. Had a bit of acupuncture and it’s still a bit tender, but the nerves have
settled down and it doesn’t inhibit my swing now, but I can still definitely
feel it when I try and twist my neck."
James Nitties, 65,
68, 67, 16-under, 3rd
"Today was probably one of the better ball striking days
out of the first three days that I had. I had a couple of good eagle chances on
par-5’s, and a couple of three putts that really stopped my momentum."
"My bogeys didn’t really come from bad shots, it was more
mental errors. It felt good today and it’s always nice to finish birdie, eagle
around this golf course."
"I’ve played golf with Josh for about ten years now. I
did a lot of travelling with him in America, so I know him really well; it’s
like playing with your buddy in a Saturday comp at your local golf club. It was
definitely good to help each other along, having a good time, holing putts, it
was just a good atmosphere all round."
"It’s just a
great event. It’s just awesome to have that many people following us around,
maybe 500 people following us and then to come to a big gallery watching at the
last hole, it was just a good fun day. It’s great to see the Kiwis playing
well, giving everyone a good excuse to come out and support some golf."
"Obviously I am playing good golf, and you want to be
confident, and have good vibes. But there’s a lot of birdies out here, so you
can play good golf and yet still get overlapped by a couple of blokes who get
birdies and eagles if you miss a couple of putts."
"It’s one of those courses where I feel you are going to
have to get off to a good start, make some birdies and keep making them to stay
around the lead, so yeah I’m definitely positive about the way I am playing, so
let’s hope I hole everything tomorrow."