Cane aims high at Heretaunga
When Jonathan Cane hung up his golf clubs in 2002 he waved goodbye to a potential pro career and a shot at playing a major tournament.
Now, a couple of years short of his 40th birthday, the chance to play the US Masters is not as fanciful as it was then for the Wellington No 1 and rep captain.
It’s a long drive from Golf Road, Heretaunga, to Magnolia Lane, Augusta, but Cane and the country’s other leading players will have a similar distant dream when the New Zealand Amateur Championship tees off at Royal Wellington today.
In a year’s time the same course will host the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship with 10 spots open to New Zealanders chasing the ultimate prize of a Masters berth. Australian Curtis Luck won in South Korea this month and snared the latest personal invitation from Augusta National chairman Billy Payne.
Cane represented his country and won three interprovincial titles with Wellington, but quit golf for a decade before dusting off the clubs again in 2013.
He works fulltime for ANZ as a settlement control officer, has two children aged 13 and six and still ranks among the country’s best.
Exhibit A: his playoff defeat to New Zealand’s No 1 Luke Toomey in the national strokeplay in March.
Cane was among 15 possibles invited by New Zealand Golf to Heretaunga last weekend for a briefing with course re-designer Greg Turner to begin planning for next year’s big one. Having received that vote of confidence, Cane is committed to claiming one of those 10 spots on his home track.
‘‘For other people to see me in that group is pretty cool. And I’m older and play less than everybody else due to having a job and a family,’’ Cane said.
‘‘You throw in some good performances and ask someone [selectors] to do you a favour, I guess. It’s a huge commitment to try and do any of this, but I’ll put everything into it.’’
This week is an early chance to impress, but form in the big events over the next 8-10 months will be the key with Asia-Pacific spots to be decided largely on world amateur rankings. On the current New Zealand order of merit, headed by Eisenhower Trophy rep Ryan Chisnall, Cane sits 10th.
In March he led the national strokeplay in Christchurch by three shots entering the final round before Toomey roared home to draw level then win the two-hole playoff. Rather than let his final round 76 haunt him, Cane saw it as a positive.
‘‘That was huge. Some of the Wellington guys were with me and they said ‘hard luck, it must be pretty gutting’,’’ Cane said.
‘‘I still finished second in the national strokeplay and these days I’m a bit of a nobody, I’m not out there playing all day every day. I took it as a really big boost. I don’t feel I’m out of place with any of those guys.’’
His rivals this week include his 18-year-old Wellington team-mate Daniel Hillier who defends his title after becoming the tournament’s youngest winner last year. Only
nine men have gone back to back in the tournament’s 123-year history, with Australian Matt Jager the last in 2009-2010.
Hillier, Tasman’s Chisnall, Waikato’s Toomey, Northland’s Luke Brown and Waikato’s Nick Coxon are back from the AsiaPacific where Toomey was bestplaced in third, and will chase the pro ranks at qualifying school in January.
Among the 93 entries for the men’s event are Wellington twins Peter and Thomas Spearman-Burn (the 2008 champion), who remain on the outer with rep selectors after winning the Duncan Cup with new club Paraparaumu Beach. Peter finished third equal in the 2009 Asia-Pacific.
The women’s amateur drew just 28 entries with defending champion Julianne Alvarez (Wellington) not returning due to US college commitments.
Last year’s runner-up Alanna Campbell is a leading contender along with runaway Harewood Open winner Rose Zheng, Espirito Santo rep Chantelle Cassidy and 2012 winner Munchin Keh, whose sister Wenyung is a Washington State team-mate of Alvarez.