GOLF
Ben Campbell was the best of the Wairarapa professionals at the New Zealand Golf Open, with a top-10 finish.
Now based in Queenstown, Campbell got off to a solid start in Thursday’s first round with a six-under-par 65 on his home course, but a second-round 69 and third-round 70 left him as a long shot to haul in the leaders in Sunday’s final round. Campbell never threatened over the last 18 holes and finished with a four-under 67, four shots off the winner, Takahiro Hataji from Japan.
Harry Bateman completed his four rounds tied for 45th at seven under with solid rounds of 69, 68, 68, and 72.
Kerry Mountcastle was in danger of missing the cut with a first-round even par 71, but a four-under 67 saw him sneak into the final rounds. A third-round 75 and final even par round saw him finish the tournament at even par.
SOFTBALL
Wairarapa achieved their goal of a top eight finish at the National Evergreens Softball tournament, played at Pukekohe last Friday and Saturday.
Having drawn a tough pool, Wairarapa qualified for the quarterfinals with wins over Hutt Valley [9–1] and Whanganui [3–2] and a 5–2 loss to Hawke’s Bay, finishing second on runs for and against. That left them a daunting quarterfinals task against two-time defending champions Canterbury, a team chock-full of former internationals.
Wairarapa were in the hunt, trailing 3–2, but Canterbury capitalised on two poor fielding errors in the fifth inning to pull away and win 5–2. A 6–5 loss to Rotorua saw Wairarapa finish the tournament eighth.
Coach Russell Kawana was rapt with the effort from the team, who were missing some key players such as big hitters Gordon Wilmshurst and Matt Kawana.
Canterbury went on to win their third consecutive championship.
