Trio defy weather to stay in contention

12 April 2012

Englishmen Lee James, Nick Dougherty and Simon Wakefield played themselves into contention in awful conditions during the first round of the New Zealand Open.

Torrential rain and howling wind made life extremely difficult for the players at the Gulf Harbour Country Club, but James, who teed off early in the morning, took his opportunities to finish the day two under par, two shots adrift of leader Scott Strange.

Dougherty and Wakefield cast aside mediocre starts to finish strongly, but after looking set to challenge for the overnight lead, disappointing bogies on their final holes proved costly.

However, the day belonged to Strange, who, with the day all but over and most of the spectators departed, turned in the best round of the day with birdies on three of the last four holes to claim the outright lead with a four-under-par 67.

After winning the Philippines Open earlier this year after leading on the first day, the Australian said he was confident he could repeat the feat.

"I've done it (won a tournament when leading after the first day) before and I would like to do it again," he said. "I had a birdie chance on 17 and had one on 18 and I knocked them in. When I had a realistic birdie chance, I holed the putt."

Meanwhile, on a day where the weather proved too much for most competitors, Western Australian Greg Chalmers cashed in with some stunning iron shots. And birdies on three of the course's four shortest holes had him poised for the outright lead.

But again, a miserable final hole dented any hopes he had of being out in front, after some wayward putting saw him pull up alongside early frontrunners Kim Felton and Jarrod Moseley at three under.

Speaking shortly after completing his round, Chalmers said he was pleased with the way he had battled through the wet conditions.

"Overall I really am happy with three under and I think in the wind that was a good score," he said. "There are a lot of guys who would give their back teeth to score a shot out there today so overall I am happy."

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