Voke shoots 65 but ‘I didn’t play that well’
“I had two weeks off surfing up in Muriwai the last couple of weeks. Let’s just say I may have been on the board too much.’’
Nick Voke
Golf sure is a funny old game.
That’s proven by Nick Voke walking off Millbrook’s Remarkables course feeling he hadn’t played well, yet an inspection of his scorecard contradicting that.
Having banged in four birdies on the bounce down the stretch in Arrowtown yesterday, the Aucklander shot a 6-under 65 to grab a share of fourth after the early groups had completed their rounds.
Now 9-under the card, that made Voke the leading Kiwi in the $2 million tournament, one stroke clear of Queenstown local Ben Campbell and three behind Australian leader Scott Hend.
“Thrilled. I didn’t feel like I played all that well. I just scored really well,’’ Voke said.
“There were a couple of really clinical up and downs there to keep the momentum going, and I finished really strongly. That was it.’’
Other than a double-bogey during his opening round on the Coronet course, Voke has kept a clean card.
The only blemish came after he opted to putt from off the green, which is perhaps a surprise given that his ball-striking hadn’t been as sharp the past two days as it was heading into the tournament.
“Really good, actually. Some of the best golf I’ve played [before this],’’ Voke said. “Then I had two weeks off surfing up in Muriwai the last couple of weeks. Let’s just say I may have been on the board too much.’’
You wouldn’t know it if you watched him rattle in four birdies between holes 14 and 17 to wrap up his second round.
Well, not after he flared his tee shot right on the par-4 17th, before he hit what he called a “miraculous’’ shot to within nine feet of the hole, before nailing the birdie putt. “Blink and it happened,’’ Voke said, having also hit a wedge to within four feet on 15. He also holed a 12-foot putt on 17.
“I could go out tomorrow, stripe it and not play that well. That’s the beauty of the game. We’ll come out firing and give it a good chance.’’
Should he keep firing into the weekend, Voke could well eat into Hend’s lead at a time Australian golfers have won nine of the past 10 tournaments.
“Not really. Maybe we should. Maybe that’s what we’re missing out on,’’ Voke said when asked if the Aussies’ dominance was a hot topic among the Kiwis.
Overnight leader Hend backed up his sizzling opening-round 64 with a 66 at Coronet yesterday, ensuring he signed his card with a two-stroke lead over countryman Marcus Fraser.
Hend mixed six birdies with a bogey in benign conditions, which are forecast to continue into the weekend.
“No wind, to be honest with you,’’ Hend said when explaining his success going into the weekend.
‘‘It’s not as difficult out there as it has been years gone past because we haven’t had the wind yet.’’