The top seeds were skittled like pins in a bowling alley in the New Zealand men's amateur golf championship at the Russley course yesterday.
After the first two rounds of the matchplay championship the top five seeds are gone including Ryan Fox, winner of the strokeplay championship by
Mizuno Mx-200 Irons
Mizuno MX-1000 Irons
on Saturday.
There were no excuses for the leading players. Conditions for the first two rounds yesterday were perfect, but the top qualifiers struggled on the demanding Russley layout.
Thirty-two players started the day with hopes of winning the amateur title
Mizuno Mx-200 Irons
Mizuno MX-1000 Irons
and eight remain to battle today for a place in the 36 hole final to be played tomorrow.
In contrast the top six seeds remain in the women's championship and Lydia Ko, who celebrated her 14th birthday yesterday with two good wins, is on target to become the first woman to win both theNew Zealand and Australian matchplay championships in the same year.
Cecilia Cho, the defending champion, is also still in the mix, advancing to the final eight with comfortable wins.
The top four men's seeds got through the first round
Mizuno Mx-200 Irons
Mizuno MX-1000 Irons
yesterday morning in relative comfort, but the upsets flowed in the second round.
Fox exited at the 19th, beaten by Steven Heyes (Russley), who was ranked 16th.
Fox had showed plenty of fight to get back into the game after being three holes down to finish all square playing
Mizuno Mx-200 Irons
Mizuno MX-1000 Irons
after 18, winning the last two holes with a birdie and a par. But on the 19th he hit his tee shot 20m to the right of the green and could not get up and down while Heyes parred to win.
"I played poorly this afternoon. I don't think I hit a good iron shot all round. Steven played solidly and deserved his win," said Fox.
Josh Munn from Manawatu upset Ben Campbell (Masterton) 1 up. Munn went to the last 1 up and played a brilliant chip to save par while Campbell missed a birdie putt and the chance to reach the final eight.
Shaun Jones, from the Russley club, who was the beaten finalist last year, exited at the 17th, beaten 2 and 1 by Blair Riordan from Nelson.
Ninth seed Keelan Kirkpatrick also fell by the wayside, beaten 2 up by Cameron Jones.
Ko won her two matches yesterday 7 and 6 and 5 and 4 by
Mizuno Mx-200 Irons
Mizuno MX-1000 Irons
, but will strike tougher opposition this morning against Love Lynn Guiguio of the Philippines.
Cho, who is seeking a third successive title, won her first two matches 6 and 5 and 4 and 3.
On Saturday, Ko emphasised her superiority in the strokeplay championship winning by nine shots. She finished seven-under par for the four rounds and added the title to the North Island title she won earlier this month and the Australian matchplay title also this month. In both cases Cho was runner-up.
A three-hole birdie blitz in the middle of his final round carried Fox to the men's strokeplay title.
He went to the last tee seven shots ahead of his nearest rival, Shaun Jones, and although he double bogeyed the 18th, still won by five shots.
He has won his last four strokeplay tournaments in New Zealand at a combined 66-under par. On Saturday his 283 total was five-under par.