They may present themselves as golf's odd couple but David
Smail is confident he and Danny Lee can hold their own in top
company at the World Cup in China this week.
Smail is very much the settled, senior partner of New
Zealand's two-man team competing against 27 other nations for
a prize pool of $US5.5 million ($NZ7.54 million) at Mission
Hills in Shenzhen.
While Smail, 39, is about to complete his 12th season in
Japan where he is closing in on a $NZ10 million landmark in
career earnings, World Cup rookie Lee, 20 years his junior,
is nearing the end of a gruelling maiden season as a
professional.
Smail has long forged his successful career on the solid
pillars of consistency; Lee's initial foray into the touring
pro ranks in the United States and Europe has been notable
for regular hot and cold spells with his scoring as he
endeavours to calm the impetuosity of youth.
It leaves Smail eager to see how he gels with the hottest
prospect to emerge from New Zealand for years.
Smail thinks their clear differences may well be to their
benefit in a four-round event played under a mixture of
fourball and foursomes formats starting on Thursday.
"It will be interesting to see how we match up," Smail told
NZPA ahead of his fifth World Cup appearance.
"I actually think we will make a good combination.
"He has the flair, an ability to hit great shots and drive it
long.
"Hopefully, I can offer some consistency and then it will
come down to a putting contest.
"And if we can roll our share of putts in then that will make
a huge difference."
Smail and his partner Mark Brown last year lost touch with
the leaders in the foursomes (alternate shot) at the same
Chinese venue, posting two rounds of 75 as they tumbled to a
share of 22nd place alongside lightweights Guatemala.
"We did struggle there. We just couldn't make any birdies and
that made it tough work."
Smail is certainly keen to see New Zealand improve a largely
modest record in the two-man teams event since the format was
changed in 2000 from 72 holes of strokeplay to fourball and
foursomes.
Frank Nobilo and Greg Turner were prominent that year in
finishing sixth before Smail debuted the following year
alongside Michael Campbell to finish in a three-way tie for
second behind South Africa in Japan.
That matched New Zealand's previous best World Cup result
achieved by Bob Charles and Walter Godfrey in 1967.
But since 2001, the the pickings have been very lean.
Campbell and Craig Perks came 17th equal in 2002, while Smail
and Campbell were tied for 15th the next year, an identical
placing to that achieved by Smail and Perks in 2004.
New Zealand did not even qualify for the tournament in 2005
and 2006 before Richard Lee and Stephen Scahill almost
trailed the field home in 27th place in 2007.
