Golf: Open title 'massive honour'

Australian golfer Dimitrios Papadatos crashed the party yesterday - but it was hard to feel too bitter about that.

Papadatos won his first tournament, barely a year after turning professional, with a four-shot victory at the $900,000 New Zealand Open at The Hills.

He carded a final-round 66, his fourth successive round in the 60s, and extended his overnight lead from one shot to four, finishing on an 18-under-par total of 270.

Hopes of a first New Zealand winner of the Open in 11 years were dashed by the 22-year-old New South Welshman, though Mark Brown (14-under) and Te Anau professional David Klein (13-under) did their best to provide a home-grown winner.

A $153,000 cheque will change Papadatos' life, but debut wins are not about the money. They open doors to tournaments and tours. And they convince a young player anything is possible.

''It definitely hasn't sunk in yet. I'm still a bit shocked at the moment,'' Papadatos said after he drained his final putt to rapturous applause on the 18th green.

''This is massive. It's a massive honour.

''I wouldn't have told you at the start of the week that I was capable of this. Obviously you tell yourself you can do it, but there's a big difference between telling yourself and the reality.

''I kept telling myself I could do it but there's always that thing, deep down, wondering if you can.''

Papadatos, who was disqualified from the New Zealand PGA at The Hills last year for hitting an incorrect ball, was anxious to get on the phone to his parents and his mentor, veteran professional Andre Stolz, back on the Central Coast.

He became the third straight Australian - following Brad Kennedy and Jake Higginbottom - to win the New Zealand Open.

Beside him in Arrowtown was his caddy and good mate Daniel Ford.

''It was his first time on the bag. I just told him he should come to Queenstown because it's really nice. He did great.''

Papadatos yesterday played protect-the-lead in fluctuating wind on the front nine, posting two birdies and a bogey to go out in 35.

A couple of good saves for par gave him confidence, and he was a model of coolness and efficiency on the back nine, posting five birdies to extend his lead.

Of particular note was his effort at the tricky par-3 16th hole. His tee shot settled 5m from the hole, near the back of the green, and he drained the birdie putt.

Papadatos has full status on the Asian Tour but winning the Open will give him extra starts in Japan.

Behind the front three, a cluster of golfers made brief pushes but always had too much ground to make up.

Australian Ashley Hall made a poor start, with three bogies on the front nine, before roaring home with four birdies and an eagle on No 13 to finish at 12-under and tied for third.

Fellow Australian Rohan Blizard matched Papadatos' final-round 66 and tied for 15th.

One of the stories of the weekend was Craig Palmer, the club professional at The Hills.

He carded a spectacular 7-under-par 65 on Saturday to get himself in contention for a fairytale win. He faded yesterday, with a 75, but his four-round total of 282 was still good enough for 19th.

The leading Asian golfer was Korea's Hong Soon Sang, who tied for 24th.

 

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