Leaders cash in on calm conditions
Ko starts NZ Open with a round of two-under, five shots off the pace
Canadian Brooke Henderson and Brit Jodi Ewart Shadoff capitalised on calm morning conditions to seize the opening round lead at the McKayson New Zealand Women’s Open yesterday.
Playing in the same 8.09am teeoff group from hole 10, the pair shot seven-under-par 65s. The links-style Windross Farm course presented few fears in the still spring air, before the arrival of southwesterly gusts in the afternoon.
Local hope Lydia Ko was five shots back in a tie for 20th after carding a 70, Going out in 33 from the 10th tee and home in 37.
“I hit the ball well throughout the day and gave myself a good look at birdies — even on my back nine — but couldn’t hole them,” Ko said.
“There was a threeputt on the 17th but, when you’re putting from 60 feet, you can’t assume it’ll be one or two putts. That was probably due to a notso-good previous shot, rather than my putter.
“I kept committing to lines, and all you can do is trust the read and put a good stroke on it.”
Ko said the wind had baked some of the greens.
“Take my last hole [No 9]; I pitched it a couple of yards short of the pin but ended up going 13-15 yards past.
“It showed you have to be careful with what the ball might do if you come in [to the greens] with longer clubs.”
After practising in rougher conditions earlier in the week, Henderson agreed the course plays differently when the wind picks up.
“I was fortunate this morning when it was calm and the greens were holding. I knew I could take advantage.
“This is playing a bit shorter [in distance] than what we typically play [in LPGA events]. I put a lot of wedges in. On one par five, I only had to hit 80 yards to the green, whereas in a practice round, I had to hit 150.
“Even if you were a few shots behind going into the weekend, you could make a difference depending on the conditions.”
The opening round marked a transformation from what were acres of corn and potato paddocks six years ago.
Ewart Shadoff was impressed with how the new course had fared in its LPGA debut.
“Especially the greens. The fairways need maybe another year to be good but it’s definitely forgiving off the tee. If the weather stays calm, you could shoot the lights out around here. I don’t know if the forecast is as good over the next few days.”
Wales’ Amy Boulden and Spain’s Belen Mozo were third equal after shooting six-under-par 66s. Boulden played arguably the round of the day, battling the afternoon wind.
“I was bogey-free and made some good par saves like on the eighth, where I didn’t have a good tee shot and hit a 3-wood in, which is a bit embarrassing. I play a links golf course back home, so feel at home here. The first few holes played quite
There will be several hundred boats criss-crossing the calm waters of Lake Tarawera early on Sunday morning. Many anglers will be nursing fuzzy heads for they will have celebrated renewing friendships with others they hadn’t seen for a year, since the previous opening of the trout season.
For October 1 is the traditional opening day, a day which aficionados anticipate eagerly, counting down the days just as they do leading up to the opening of duck shooting season on the first Saturday in May. Season openings are a powerful part of the fabric that is such a rich part of our outdoor heritage. May it always be so.
It is so important to some people that the calendar controlling such institutions as our courts can be affected. The whole justice system in the Bay of Plenty would grind to a halt on opening day many years ago when we lived in Rotorua. A fishing buddy, who was the Crown prosecutor for the region, would ring up at the start of the year and ask, ”What are the openings and closings, boy? I’ll put them in the diary and then we can sort out the court days.”
So by the time the opening of duck shooting, scallops, trout and whitebait were recorded along with their respective closings, the court diary had quite a few days crossed out. But what was an extra day or two in a remand cell for an alleged transgressor when there were trout to be caught? And so it will be this weekend. Many of the faces will be the same, if bearing a few extra lines. Our opening celebrations go back over 50 years, and there are few of the originals left. There are more empty seats as the seasons roll by.
But the trout are always the same. They come to the net with silver flanks gleaming bright as a newly minted coin. These are prime Tarawera rainbows, and most will have one fin missing. This has been clipped off by the fisheries officers at the Nongotaha Hatchery where the baby trout are raised for stocking lakes and streams throughout the North Island. A different fin is removed each year, so the trout can be identified and their growth monitored. But it does not affect their speed through the water, or their ability to slash at the tiny smelt which look just like land-locked whitebait. The trout love them just as we love whitebait, and our slim flies with sparkling silver bodies and yellow feathers plucked from the neck of a bantam skin make a good imi- tation. Good enough to fool the rainbows as we troll the flies slowly along the edge of the weed beds.
As the light gradually gains hold over the darkness, promising a new day, and the great grey bulk of Mount Tarawera looms over the lake, the anticipation is boiling over as the first lines are paid out behind the boat.
There is a splash a few metres away, then another. Like all animals and fish, the trout start the day by feeding. These fish are chasing smelt near the surface, which is why the boats are bunched together on this spot called White Cliffs. The sandy banks on the lake edge mark a wide shelf which spreads out in a huge arc, and the harling lines slide over the weed beds which cover the sand a few metres below.
The high pitched metallic screech of an old Hardy fly reel shatters the silence, for the new four-stroke outboard motors can barely be heard, and the game is on. It is a welcome sound which has haunted dreams for weeks. The reel is old, scratched and battered. It was forged by hand in England in the 1950s but it is not just sentimental value which enriches its performance; it is of far better quality than the modern replacements. They just don’t have the same sound.
The long fly rod bends and shakes, the trout splashes, the reel sings again and the anglers in the boat rejoice. Another opening day has started.
Salt water
Sea temperatures are starting to creep up, and this will signal an improvement in the snapper bite. Fish are starting to turn up in traditional areas such as the worm beds between Rangitoto and Tiritiri Matangi Islands, and there are plenty of work-ups north of Waiheke Island. In Northland waters, the winter fishing has been consistent, while the Bay of Plenty has kingfish over the deep water pinnacles. All that is needed is some settled, warm weather to trigger some excellent spring fishing. Fish can be slow on the bite in cool temperatures, so light line and small baits or lures can be used to entice strikes. Even a tentative nibble can be deceptive, and on hooking up, turn out to be a respectable sized fish.