Jake Higginbottom wins the BMW New Zealand Open
Australian Jake Higginbottom fired a five-under par 67 in the final round of the BMW New Zealand Open, to become the first amateur in 56 years to record a victory in the tournament.
The tournament was being played at the Clearwater Golf Club, featuring some of the prominent names on the PGA Tour of Australasia.
The 19-year-old was three shots adrift of the overnight leader Mark Brown of New Zealand, entering the final round on Sunday.
Brown was New Zealand’s only hope to bring back the prestigious trophy home after nine years.
However, his one-over par score in the final round did not help his cause and he slipped to the fourth position on the leaderboard
Higginbottom, in the meantime, took advantage of the situation and surged to the top to claim his maiden victory on the tour.
The Australian suffered an early wobble this morning, bogeying the first hole. He then made a strong comeback by carding birdies on each of the next two holes.
After recording birdie-bogey on the eighth and the tenth hole, respectively, he earned shots on five of the last eight holes that he played.
At the end of the day, he found himself one shot ahead of his compatriots Jason Norris and Peter Wilson.
“It is a great feeling and it means a lot me,” said the 19-year-old from Sydney. “It is good to come over here and play against the professionals and know that I am as good as them”.
Talking to the reporters after his win, he also revealed that he talked to his parents, right after completing his final round campaign at Christchurch.
"Mum was crying and Dad was just happy that I made a good speech, he is an idiot," laughed the Aussie.
During the second round, he hit his approach shot into the water hazard present on the 18th hole and did not want the same to happen in the final round.
Therefore, he had a detailed discussion with the senior Australians, participating in the event, on how to clear the hole without suffering a penalty shot.
"I actually talked about the 18th with my mates before the final round. They asked me what I would do if I had a one shot lead down the last and I told them I would just rip one down there”.
Tags: