Howison regains lead on windy day in New Zealand  CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand -- Moving day in the third round of the HSBC New Zealand PGA Championship turned into a full-throttle reverse at the Clearwater Resort and left the leaders trying to contain the chaos caused by 20-25 mph winds.  Ryan Howison got some helpful advice from a local caddie. (Getty Images)
Ryan Howison, despite a bogey on his closing hole, emerged from the pack with a 2-under-par 70 and a 6-under 210 total, good for a one stroke lead on Australian James Nitties in the $600,000 event being co-sanctioned for the sixth year by the Nationwide Tour and the PGA TOUR of Australasia. American Nicholas Thompson heads a group of six players two shots back that also includes David Morland IV, Lee Williamson, Sal Spallone, 47-year old Aussie Peter Senior and New Zealander Mark Brown. Saturday's third round didn't start until noon because half the field was forced to return to the course in the morning to finish round two, which had been delayed 80 minutes by morning rain before being suspended shortly before 6pm Friday. Howison played eight holes in the morning and finished poorly to shoot 75, thus dropping three strokes off the pace but still within striking distance. "It was just exhausting out there today," said Howison, who headed back to his hotel for a quick shower and change of clothes before regrouping for round three. "It was a grind out there. It's a day when you're just trying to survive. You don't want to shoot yourself out of the tournament and fortunately I didn't." He didn't, partly due to a suggestion made by his local caddie, who watched a tape of the Friday television coverage and noticed something had changed in Howison's swing from his opening-day 65. "We went to the range after and he asked if he could tell me something," said the leader. "At that point I would have taken advice from a squirrel. It was a big adjustment for me and it had to do with balance. Other than that, it's a secret. You get down on yourself when you're not striking the ball at the level you expect and you can't figure out how to fix it. We all make adjustments on the course and I tried 42 different things and just couldn't find it. And then, lo and behold my caddie says to try this. All of a sudden, it's center of the club face." The advice worked and put Howison back atop the leaderboard as he searches for his fourth career Nationwide Tour win but his first since 1999. "I haven't been in contention in a long time but I know I can do it," he said. "I just have to remember how." Howison's going to have to keep a growing contingent at arm's length if he hopes to win and collect the $108,000 top prize. The biggest challenger might be the 32-year old Brown, who turned in a bogey-free 66 to move into a tie for third after making the cut on the number and starting round three in a tie for 60th place. "I was just happy to make the weekend," said Brown, who was one of 18 players at 2-over par to make the final two rounds when David Diaz bogeyed his last hole to move the cut line from plus-one to plus-2. "There are a lot of guys out here who owe him a beer. I just took the attitude that I had nothing to lose." Brown, who resides in the windy city of Wellington, is a former top-rated amateur who took three years away from the game to get his personal life in order before deciding to rejoin the competitive ranks midway through last year. He enjoyed some success on the New Zealand circuit in late 2006 and has been playing the Asian Tour to start 2007. "I gave myself a talking to last week," said Brown, who tied for 27th at the Jakarta Open. "I thought 'what's the point of hanging on and just making some money here and there.' I don't know if my game's ready but mentally it's time to do something." Rd. 2 Notes: Second-round play resumed at 8 a.m. and was completed at 11:25 a.m. ...Michael Letzig, Peter Senior and Sal Spallone shared the 36-hole lead at 7-under 137. Chez Reavie was one stroke back...A total of 78 players made the cut, which came at 2-over-par 146. The cut line changed dramatically when David Diaz, playing in the second-to-the-last group bogeyed his final two holes. The cut line had been at 1-over until Diaz' bogeys brought all of the players at 2-over (18 players) back into the fray and qualified them for the final 36 holes...Bradley Hughes (69) and Peter Senior (71) were the only players who did not have a bogey during the second round...There were no eagles recorded during the second round...Seven players matched the low round of the day with 68s...Spike McRoy and Richard Swift withdrew during the second round...The second round scoring average was 74.140 was the second-highest in tournament history (75.522 in the first round of 2006)... Rd. 3 Notes: Ben Bates made the cut on the number, giving him 193 total Nationwide Tour cuts made in his career, and breaking a tie with Steve Haskins for the all-time leader in Tour history...Third-round tee times ran from noon to 2 p.m. with threesome off both the 1st and 10th tees...Matt Hansen had an eagle at the par-5, 2nd hole...Michael Brennan aced the par-3, 9th hole, only the third hole in one in tournament history and the first since 2003...The best round of the day was a Mark Brown's 66...The third-round scoring average was 75.012 and only three holes played below par for the day. The hardest hole was the 407-yard, 8th hole, which allowed only two birdies and produced a scoring average of 4.615...Sunday's tee times will run from 9:40 to 11:40 a.m. in threesomes off both the 1st and 10th tees again. |
PGATOUR.com is part of the Turner Sports and Entertainment Digital Network