Surprising even himself, Howison leads NZ PGA by a shot  PGA TOUR Staff CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand -- Ryan Howison admitted his 7-under-par 65 in the first round of the HSBC New Zealand PGA Championship on Thursday was a bit of a surprise.  Ryan Howison thrived despite hitting only four fairways. (Steve Levin/WireImage)
The 40-year-old Floridian missed the cut in his first two starts this year and is coming off a 2006 season that saw him make six cuts in 26 starts, finish No. 163 on the money list. In fact, Howison hadn't posted such a good score since the third round of the 1999 Dakota Dunes Open, a span of 123 Nationwide Tour starts and 457 total rounds. "I haven't been holing the putts I need to," said the three-time Tour winner, who has battled a myriad of shoulder, elbow and wrist injuries for the past several years. "I think I start pressing a little bit. You start hitting the ball in there 10 to 12 feet and you don't make any. "The next thing you know you miss a green, chip up to six feet and miss that," he added. "You do that for two or three holes and all of a sudden you're over par, versus today when you're holing putts and all of a sudden I'm 2 under over that same stretch." Howison rolled in more than his share of putts at the Clearwater Resort and, it turns out, he needed to after hitting only four of 14 fairways. Eight birdies were offset by a lone bogey at the par-5 14th, where his tee shot was barely a foot from the fairway but impossible to move forward. "I literally had to chip it out sideways about five feet," he said. "I only had a 4-iron into the green but I couldn't advance it. I had 30 yards to carry the hazard and I couldn't even do that." Howison's best score since he eventually lost that 1999 Dakota Dunes Open in a playoff was one shot better than 47-year old Peter Senior (66), a 54-hole co-leader at last week's Jacob's Creek Open Championship in Adelaide, Australia. Senior shot a 74 in the final round and tied for fifth after starting the day in a three-way tie with Scott Sterling and David Lutterus, the eventual champion and runner-up, respectively. When the pairings were announced, there were the three names, side-by-side-by-side again. "We all thought that was a bit strange being in the same group," said Senior. "Scott's a methodical player and he'll do well. David's new on the scene and he got a little bit frustrated. We're blessed with a wealth of talent around the world." Sterling carded a 1-over 73 while Lutterus posted a 76 on the 7,122-yard course that was left a bit vulnerable by a lack of wind. "This course is to be had when there is no wind," admitted the leader. "When it's windy though, it's a whole new ballgame." American Chez Reavie (67) is in third place, while Jim McGovern, David Hearn, Won Joon Lee, Matthew Jones and Jason Caron share fourth place with 68s. First-Round Notes: No first-round leader has gone on to win this event in the previous five years the tournament has been co-sanctioned by the Nationwide Tour and the PGA TOUR of Australasia. ... Chez Reavie hit 12 of 14 fairways and 17 of 18 greens to tie for the best efforts in both of those categories Thursday. Chris Nallen had the fewest putts with 23. ... Jason Caron tied the tournament record with a 6-under-par 30 on the front nine, his opening nine. Caron birdied the first three holes and five of the first six. Caron double-bogeyed the 18th hole for a 4-under 68. ... Luke Hickmott tied the tournament record with a 5-under 31 on the back nine. He finished with a 2-under 70. ... There were five eagles Thursday, all of them coming on the 518-yard, par-5 14th hole -- Luke Hickmott, Bradley Isles, Ryan Hietala, Chris Thompson and Ricky Barnes. ... Players who were bogey-free in the morning wave: David Hearn (68), Michael Wright (69), Elliot Gealy (70), Michael Sims (70) and Mark Brown (71). Players who were bogey-free in the afternoon half of the draw: none. Thursday's scoring average was 72.308. Copyright 2007 PGATOUR.com. All rights reserved. |
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