Kiwi claims PNG Open
THE Australians may have won the Centenary Test last Friday night but the story was different on the PNG golf course after the Export Papua New Guinea Open golf tournament ended yesterday.
As anticipated, it was tight finish in the final day of the premier PNG golf event with New Zealander Josh Carmichael edging out closest rival Australian Chris Taylor for the major prize.
Both totalled 285 each, while Carmichael had a good start topping the leaderboard with a 4 under score of 68 to set the foundation for his victory. In the final day, the Carmichael Josh finished with a 3 under par score of 72.
“For guys like me who want to achieve our dreams in the sport, I would like to thank all the sponsors for making it real for me and I hope my win today will take me a long way,” Carmichael said when receiving his award.
Taylor, who threatened Carmichael for the lead in the later stages of the tournament finished with 3 under par 75 for runner-up prize. It was the 17th time the Australian had taken part in the tournament and this year could have been the year he won the PNG Open.
“Well, what can I say but I still got the monkey on my back but this is a fair good finish for me,” he said
Taylor led on both the second and third day. Yesterday, he maintained his spot on the leaderboard when he scored 9 birdies and 9 pars in a flawless round of golf and led the field by 2 shots in the third round.
Early yesterday, he shot a 1 over par 73 to remain at the top.
Eddie Barr, Brad Shilton, and Josh Carmichael all finished the third round 3 shots back on -3.
It was an exciting four-day tournament with only two withdrawals by Heath Reed and Nathan Mahoney after Round 1 due to illness and injuries. The duo was the second lot of professionals to withdraw after former PNG Open champion Pat Giles withdrew for the same reason.
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