Cooke wins Open

Sports

SOUTH Australia’s Peter Cooke won the SP PNG Open yesterday to claim his maiden title on the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia.
The 34-year-old finished the final round with a two-under 70 to finish 18-under 270 for the tournament, two shots ahead of Jack Wilson, who shot the same score to finish on 16-under.
Cooke, who started the day with a two-shot lead finished with rounds of 71, 65, 64 and 70.
The win marked Cooke’s maiden victory after finishing runner-up at the WA PGA Championship in 2014.
An eagle on the par-5 8th hole helped to extend Cooke’s lead over the field, with birdies on the 12th and 13th holes helping to seal his fate despite bogeying the final hole.
An elated Cooke said it was his first title on the tour and it was one he would cherish.
“That was my first one and I just want to thank the organisers for having me for the week,” Cooke said on receiving the SP PNG Open trophy and the winner’s green jacket,” Cooke said.
“This course has been pretty good and the atmosphere, especially on the final day, has been great.
“I didn’t know what to expect when I came up here but I’m glad I did. It’s been an experience.”
Sports Vice-Minister Wesley Raminai congratulated Cooke on his win and commended the visiting pros for their contribution to making the event a success.
“This is a pretty tough sport to play. Golf is not as easy as it looks and I commend you all for doing your best,” Raminai said.
“To our three amateurs who took part in this tournament, you did use proud and proved that you can play alongside professionals.
“This should hopefully inspire others to also do well in the sport.”
PNG’s Brian Taikiri claimed the trophy for best amateur at the Open finishing three-over par with scores of 73, 69, 75 and 74. The 24-year-old said he was pleased with making the cut along with fellow local amateurs Gideon Tikili (eight-over 296) and Cassie Kouma (four-over 292).
“I wasn’t expecting to win this because leading up to the Open I wasn’t playing well but I enjoyed it and it was good to finish well with a three-over,” Taikiri said.
Last year’s champion Daniel Gale missed the cut on Friday shooting a four-over par 76 to finish.
Royal Port Moresby Golf Club president Peter Del Monte thanked the organisers and volunteers who contributed to making the Open a success.
“The 2019 SP PNG Open saw 92 professionals take part which the most number of professionals this tournament has seen and the pros that played here came from 11 countries making this a truly international event and we’re proud of that,” Del Monte said.
He added that the cut had been reduced from three-over last year to one-under this year and he was impressed with the effort of the three local amateurs.
Kade McBride fired a five-under 67 to finish tied for third with Day 2 leader Jordan Mullaney on 14-under.
The tier tournament with a purse of K353,000 is the biggest golf event on the PNG calendar and has been supported by South Pacific Brewery, as its signature event, over the last 13 years.
SP managing director Stan Joyce thanked the visiting pros and the local organising committee as well as the corporate community for coming out to support the Open.