Australian golfer Mark Hensby is in a desperate battle to
halt a downward slide.
Ranked 27th in the world as recently as 2007, the 37-year-old
now finds himself sharing tee space in less illustrious
company on a weekly basis on the Nationwide Tour.
He lost his PGA Tour card last year after a season seriously
interrupted by injury, a torn rotator cuff in his right
shoulder forcing him to bide his time for 4-1/2 months.
Now he's on a mission to reclaim his PGA Tour status via the
secondary Nationwide circuit and showed he still has a game
worth watching as he posted a six-under-par 66 in the third
round of the $US600,000 New Zealand Open at The Hills here
today.
His bogey free round in a stiffening southwesterly wind
promoted him from 38th equal to a share of fourth place,
seven shots behind the leader, American rookie Robert Gates.
This is Hensby's first Nationwide event since he attended PGA
Tour qualifying school late last year, something he recalled
as a humbling experience.
"It was a weird feeling. It was really hard to take," said
Hensby, who played for the International team in the
Presidents Cup in 2005 and 2007.
"It's not that you think you are better than anyone else, but
it was definitely an eye opener." Hensby, who had a stellar
season in 2005 when he tied for third behind New Zealand's
Michael Campbell at the US Open and finished fifth equal at
the Masters, said he was highly motivated to force his way
back on to the main tour.
He knows he will have to work hard to make that happen due to
the ever improving standards on the Nationwide Tour.
"I want to get back there but it seems like it's a lot harder
to get back there than it was to get there in the first
place," said Hensby, who won the 2004 John Deere Classic and
whose PGA Tour tournament earnings stand at close to $US6
million.
Hensby has rebuilt his career before, following a car
accident in 2006. He emerged from the accident with a foot
injury which limited his playing opportunities, but
eventually got back where he wanted to be.
He has more experience than most in the field at The Hills
but does not think that alone will work in his favour when
the pressure intensifies in the closing round tomorrow.
"Years ao, going into the last round you might have expected
some of them to drop back, but now they go low.
"The kids aren't scared any more."
