New Zealand Open Day 4 – Live Updates

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Round 4

• 6.15pm – An emotional Brendan Jones, 48, has won his first national championship and his first on the Australasian PGA Tour. He said he hit two of the best shots of his life to secure key birdies coming in.
• 6.10pm – Brendan Jones finishes with a par to claim the New Zealand Open title by three shots from compatriot John Lyras who shares second on 15 under with Kiwi Ben Campbell, Korea’s Eom Jaewong and Japan’s Tomoyo Ikemura.
• 5.42pm – Brendan Jones has survived a loose approach shot on 17 to make birdie and extend his lead to three shots with one to play.
• 5.16pm – “I really wanted to shoot -8 today. I thought if I got to -18 it would be a good score. I just had that in mind – Jonesy is a very good finisher and you know he isn’t going to go backwards too fast. Whether I pushed a little too hard – it is what it is.” – Ben Campbell.
• 4.56pm – Ben Campbell will sign for a 66 and a -15 finish, however Brendan Jones has a tap in putt on the par 3 15th to go into a two-shot lead.
• 4.49pm – Brendan Jones completes a two-putt birdie on 14 to take the outright lead at -16.
• 4.45pm – Ben Campbell sticks it close on 17 and makes the birdie putt to regain a share o the lead with a big gallery of home fans willing him on.
• 4.33pm – Tom Power Horan has closed with a -6 65 to be one shot off the lead after a back nine 31. The leading group of four is John Lyras, Jaewoong Eom, Brendan Jones and Terumichi Kakazu. 
• 4.20pm – 2017 champion Michael Hendry has gone birdie-birdie midway through his back nine to move to within a shot of the lead.
• 4.01pm – John Lyras has finished his day tied for the lead at -15 after a back nine 33 to sit alongside Ben Campbell, Tomoyo Ikemura and Terumichi Kakazu. However, Campbell has dropped two shots on the par 3 15th.
• 3.31pm – Things are heating up! Ben Campbell has joined the top of the leaderboard  after birdie on 13 along with Tomoyo Ikemura, who eagled 10, and Chris Wood.
• 3.21pm – Millbrook professional Ben Campbell continues to make a challenge. An eagle on the 10th has been followed by birdie on 12 to move to within a shot of the lead. Campbell was runner-up in 2017 when he was part of a dramatic playoff won by Michael Hendry.
• 3.05pm – With plenty of golf still to be played, there are 21 golfers within four shots of the lead. Chris Wood has made the turn in an even-par 35 and leads at -15. John Lyras is making a move with three to play, three birdies in four holes moving him to a share of second at -14.
• 2.46pm – Chris Wood has dropped a shot with a three-putt bogey on eight to fall to -15 and halve his lead to Brendan Jones and Terumichi Kakazu. Local player Ben Campbell has eagled 10 to move to -13 in a share of fourth.
• 2.08pm – Harry Hillier is the clubhouse leader after carding a -8 low round for the day so far to move to -13 for the tournament. Chris Wood has moved two clear at the top through five holes.
• 1.41pm – There’s a real jam developing at the top of the leaderboard. Chris Wood’s bogey on the fourth has him tied at the top with Brendan Jones, with Japanese players Tomoyo Ikemura and Terumichi Kakazu just a shot back. Overnight leader Shae Wools-Cobb is struggling with five dropped shots in four holes.
• 1.21pm – A birdie on the par 4 third has seen Chris Wood move to the top of the leaderboard.
• 1.08pm – Lots of action at the top of the page with Shae Wools-Cobb adding a double to his opening hole bogey to drop three shots in two holes. He’s fallen to a share of second, with Chris Wood, who has made a solid start, and Brendan Jones, who has two birdies in his first three holes, now leading on -15. Japan’s Tomoyo Ikemura is also challenging on -14 after a strong start.
• 1pm – Australian Douglas Klein fires a six-under 65 to join John Mullaney with the clubhouse lead on eight-under. Conditions more pleasant here – sun is out and calm.
• 12.45pm – Our leader Shae Wools-Cobb has dropped a shot at the opening hole – his lead just one on Chris Wood and two on compatriot Brendan Jones.
• 12.38pm – At the top of the order, our leaders Shae Wools-Cobb and Chris Wood are underway, while chasers Brendan Jones and Tomoyo Ikemura have both made birdies on the opening hole. However leading amateur, kiwi 21 year old Kazuma Kobori has made a bogyey-bogey start to drop to 10-under and a share of 15th.
• 12.35pm – Clubhouse leader is Australian Jordan Mullaney who has shot a 7-under 64 – with 5 birdies in 6 holes on the back nine. He has finished on 7-under for the tournament.
• 12.30pm – Good start for Japan’s Tomoyo Ikemura with a birdie on the opening hole to move to ourright third on 14-under. We have not had a winner from Japan – is today the day?
• 12.10pm – New Zealand’s Jordan Mullaney is moving up the leaderboard on the final day – now at -6 through 16 holes to be 7-under for the tournament. Also in hot form is Australia’s Harry Hillier with five birdies to move to 10-under and a share of 14th on the leaderboard.
• 11.50am – Lyras continues his run with three straight birdies to move to 11-under while Harry Hillier from Australia hs gone through 9 holes in 3-under 32 – the best so far.
• 11.30am – Earlier competition contender John Lyras, who fired a second round 62 at the Remarkables, slipped out of the leading contenders with a one-over 72 on Saturday but has bagged two birdies in his first three rounds to move to 10-under.
• 10.57am – Following some overnight rain and passing showers this morning, conditions are definitely improving here at Millbrook. That will be good news for the leading groups, who will be looking to take advantage of the scoring opportunities. The lead group of Shae Wools-Cobb (-17) and Chris Wood (-15) tees off at 12.30pm.
• 10.20am – After a +`1 third round yesterday, Harry Hillier has come out firing in the chilly conditions this morning with three straight birdies inside his first four holes. Andrew Evans (AUS) has birdied his first three holes, with both now -8 for the tournament in a share of 22nd place currently.
• 9.50am – Opening birdies for Harry Hillier, Andrew Evans and Chan Shih-Chang on the opening hole to move to 6-under. The leaders tee off at 12.30pm
• 9.25am – South Koreans Todd Baek and Yeongsu Kim both made erly birdies to move to -4 for the championship as light drizzle continues to fall here. Baek has an interesting back story you can read here.
• 8:50am – Damp conditions and wet underfoot makes for new challenge today with only 3 birdies from early startersled by Kerry Mountcastle and Doug Klein who have both made birdies at the 1st to move to -3 for the tournament.
• 7:00am: Drizzle is hanging around Millbrook Resort this morning as we enter the final round. Can Shae Wools-Cobb hold his lead or will the chasing pack be able to overhaul his two-shot lead? Join us for live updates from 7.30am and for the LIVE broadcast on Sky Sport at 2pm!

Round 3

• 6:52pm: Young kiwi Kazuma Koburi was disappointed at a double bogey on 17 derailed an excellent display, but he recovered with a great birdie on the final hole. “I just need to fire low. I am playing really well and don;t have to worry about my swing. That double bogey sucked but I have to let it go and look ahead.”
• 6.50pm: Four Australians, 2 Japanese and a Thai are the leading eight players for tomorrow’s final round. Wools-Cobb has 2 shots on Wood, with a shot back to Japan’s Terumichi Kakazu. There’s 1 further shot to Brendan Jones, Rhein Gibson and Scott Hend. At -12 is the leading kiwis Kazuma Kobori and Michael Hendry.
• 6.45pm: Australian Shae Wools-Shae has birdied the last hole to finish on 17-under to take a 2 shot lead into the final round tomorrow over compatriot Chris Wood.
• 6.24pm – Scott Hend (AUS) has dropped a shot on the 18th to fall out of second place and Terumichi Kakazu (JPN) has made par on the 18th stay second, currently three shots behind the leader.
• 6.15pm – Kazuma Kobori birdies the last for a -3 round and -12 for the tournament. He’s the still the leading New Zealander and the leading amateur heading into the final round.
• 5.45pm  – Australian Rhein Gibson nearly holes his approach shot for eagle on the Par-5 17th but nails the short birdie putt ot move to 12-under – 4 shots off the leader.
• 5.40pm – Leader Shae Wools-Cobb makes a clutch par putt on the 15th after missing the green wide to retain his three shot advantage.
• 5.20pm – Local Queenstown-based professional Ben Campbell has made 3 birdies in 5 holes to move to 10-under in a share of 13th – with two holes to play.
• 5.15pm – Leader Shae Wools-Cobb drops a shot on the par-4 13th which means the field is contracting with the top-12 players within four shots right now .
• 5pm – There’s never been a player from the Japan Tour or Asian Tour win the New Zealand Open – but with the end of round 3 in sight, there are 3 Japanese players (Terumichi Kakazu, Tomoyo Ikemura and Ryosuke Kinoshita) and one from South Korea (Jaewoong Eom) along with Gunn Charoenkul (Thailand) in the top-10.
• 4.45pm – Odds favour a new winner of the Brodie Breeze Trophy on Sunday – with 2017 winner Michael Hendry the only previous champion currently in the top 40 on the leader board.
• 4.30pm – DP World Tour player Daniel Hillier is hoping his putter warms up on the final day despite carding a -4 round today to be -10 for the tournament.

  “Pretty pleased,” Hillier said of his round today. “Didn’t do anything too special, just plodded my way around. The putter let me down a bit today, a bit of a story for the week, but I’ve still been putting some good numbers on the board and hopefully my day with the putter comes tomorrow.

  “There are a lot of chances out there. Conditions are pretty benign. If you put yourself in the right spot you could come away with a lot of birdies. I think the weather is going to be pretty similar tomorrow so hopefully I can take advantage of that.”

• 4.10pm – Scott Hend (AUS) has made three straight birdies either side of the turn to rise to a share of second at -13 with six holes to go.
• 3.30pm – Kazuma Kobori, the leading New Zealander and the leading amateur in the field, has made the turn in 32 with a solid -3 round so far to be in a share for third, four shots behind Wools-Cobb.
• 3.22pm – Michael Hendry, the last New Zealander to win the national open in 2017, has come home in -6 to be -11 for the tournament. Hendry birdied three of his last five holes and is currently in a share of fifth place.
• 3.16pm – Shae Wools-Cobb has made the turn in 30. After four pars to start his round he has poured in five straight birdies to ease out to a three shot lead at -16.
• 2.33pm – It’s turning into a birdie-athon out there and Shae Wools-Cobb isn’t missing out, his third in a row pushing him into the outright lead over Brendan Jones, who is in the clubhouse at -12.
• 2.24pm Back-to-back birdies from Shae Wools-Cobb has boosted him into a share of the lead with Brendan Jones at -13.
• 2.02pm This morning’s drizzle and southerly wind has given way to some great scoring conditions at Millbrook. Brendan Jones has been on fire today, carding a flawless -9 round to leap into the lead at -13. 
• 1.25pm – New Zealand amateur Kazuma Kobori has birdied two of his first three holes to move into a share of second place amongst a stacked leaderboard which has seven players within three shots of Chris Wood.
• 1.05pm – Brendan Jones continues to set the pace on day 3, his third birdie of the back nine taking him to -6 for the day and -10 for the tournament through 13 holes. He is currently in a share of fifth place.
• 12.55pm – Elvis Smylie (AUS) has recorded his third birdie of the day to move into a share of ninth place through 10 holes.
• 12.40pm – The Pro field is now all underway in the third round with leaders Chris Wood (-12) and Shae Wools-Cobb (-11) making pars at the first.
• 12.40pm – Sole Thailand player to make the cut, Gunn Charoenkul has made a birdie-birdie-birdie  start to move to a share of second place.
• 12.15pm – Another former champion on the move is 2019 champion Zach Murray from Australia who has bounced back from a bogey at the 4th with three straight birdies to move to -7 and a share of 16th.
• 12.05pm – The 2001 New Zealand Open champion David Smail has finished in a happier state. After a first 9 of 7-over incl a quadruple bogey, he has finished 1-under for the back including an eagle on the 17th.
• 12noon – Australian Sam Brazel has continued his run. After three bogeys in succession early in his round, he has bagged five birdies in 7 holes to move to -6 for the tournament.
• 11.45am – Australian Brendan Jones has celebrated his 48th birthday with the best of the early scorers on Day 3. He has gone through the opening nine at 3-under to jump to 7-under in a share of 15th. he made birdies at the 3rd, 4th and 9th holes blemish-free.
• 11.15am – Asian Tour pro Sam Brazel (Australia) has recovered from 3 straight bogies on the front nine with 3 birdies in 5 holes to e -1 for the day and -5 for the tournamdnt thru 12 holes.
• 10.30am – The weather is on the improve and so is the scoring early on day 3 – led by Brendon Jones who is 2-under through five holes to move to -6 for the tournament. Joining him on -6 is Michael Hendry who has made birdie on the 2nd hole, while another kiwi hope, Dan Hillier has made birdie on the opening hole to move to a share of 12th overall on -7.
• 10.05 am – Only 2 players in red figures among the first half of the field on the course in early stages of the third round. Australian veteran Brendan Jones – who plies his trade on the Japan Tour and a strong advocate of the New Zealand Open – is at 1-under through 3 holes. So too is his Yongiun Bae from Korea.
• 9.40am – Red numbers hard to find in the challenging cool, overcast conditions – just 6 birdies from the 21 pros on course in the opening 2hrs of play along with a combined 14 bogeys, 7 doubles, a triple and a quad…. 
• 8:50am – Tough start for the 2001 New Zealand Open Champion David Smail who was first off, making a bogey at the first hole but a disastrous quadruple bogey at the 2nd hole. Early Birdies for Douglas Klein and Chan Shih-Chang who both move to 5-under for the tournament. the leaders are off at 1.35pm.
• 8:45am – Play began at 7.35am – it is an unusual morning in Arrowtown, some early morning light rain, strengthening winds and cool conditions with low-overhanging clouds.
• 8:35am – 61 players plus 42 teams have made it through to Round 3. We are now playing a different course – after playing the new Coronet and Remarkables configurations, we have the composite course for the final 36 holes which is basically the Coronet course with Hole No 2 removed plus the Par-5 18th of the Remarkables added to become the 17th for the composite course
• 7.35am – We are back live on Moving Day here at the New Zealand Open. Here are the Tee Times for those who made the Cut. And Check out the Leaderboard to see who is sitting at the top!

Round 2

• 6.22pm Kazuma Kobori has carded a 4-under 67, currently in a tie for fourth place, as the leading New Zealander and leading amateur.
• 6.02pm – Steven Alker has birdied the 18th to finish at -1 for the day and -6 for the tournament.
• 5.45pm – Leading kiwi right now is Christchurch amateur Kasuma Kobori on 8-under with 2 holes to play on the Coronet course. He is 3-under today.
• 5.15pm Sydneysider John Lyras, after an even-par round yesterday, needed to fire some birdies today. He did that with a 9-under par 62, currently in fourth place, three shots off the lead.
• 5.10pm – Scott Hend has fired a 7-under par 64 to finish on 10-under and third place to date, behind compatriots Chris Wood -12 and Shae Wools-Cobb -11.
• 5.00pm – Scott Hend has moved to 10-under with one hold to play on the Remarkables course.
• 4.35pm – There is a chance of our second course record in two days at the New Zealand Open presented by Sky Sport. Yesterday Chris Wood from Australia shot a 10-under par 61 on the Remarkables course at Millbrook Resort. With two holes to play, Sydney’s John Lyras is at 9-under par. 
• 4.30pm – Despite the strengthening winds at Millbrook Resort this afternoon, the cut mark is becoming tougher. Right now there are 19 players at 4-under in a share of 45th place with the top-60 players advancing to the final two rounds. 
• 3.32 pm – A solid round of 69 has seen overnight leader Chris Wood hold his place at the top of the leaderboard. After his course record 61 on Thursday, Wood was again impressive on the way to -15 before dropping three shots over his final five holes.

  “I just tried to ride the momentum from yesterday, probably didn’t hit it as good on the range but still managed to get the scoring going early,” Wood said. “A bit disappointing to drop three or four shots over the last few holes, but I can’t complain too much.”

• 2.15 pm – Shae Cobb-Wools (AUS) has finished his second round with a -7 on the Coronet course to be -11 for the tournament. Chris Wood is currently -2 for today aftr a double bogey but still leads at -12.
• 1.40pm – Australian Scott Hend has made a blistering start to his second round, an opening hole eagle on the 463m par 5 10th on the Remarkables course followed by three straight birdies to move to -8.
• 1.25 pm – 2017 champion Michael Hendry has finished his second round with a birdie to card a -6 65 and go to -5 for the tournament.
• 12.40 pm – Overnight leader Chris Wood (AUS) is -4 today through 11 holes to move to -14 with a three shot lead on compatriot Shae Wools-Cobb who is -7 today to be on -11 with 5 holes to play. Korea’s Jaewong Eom is -5 today to be on -9  with 3 holes to play. The 2017 champion Michael Hendry is -6 today to jump to -5 in a share of 18th with 3 holes to play.
• 12.10pm – Update on 2017 winner Michael Hendry with 7 birdies and one dropped shot to be 5-under overall through 13 holes at the Remarkables course today. 
• 12.05pm – The focus is also ont he cut today for the top 60 plus ties, currently sitting at 3-under but with half of the field to tee off. Prominent players ont he improve today to make that makr include defending champion Brad Kennedy (1-under today to move to 3-under), 2017 winner Mike Hendry (-4 today to move to -3 overall), long-time supporter Brendan Jones (-1 today to be -3 overall) midway through their rounds.
• 11.59am – Shae Wool Cobb continues his move update the leaderboard and is now -6 for the round through 10 holes. He is 3 behind the tournament leader Chris Wood who is -3 though 7.
• 11.35am – Michael Hendry, the last kiwi to win the New Zealand Open in 2017, has made a better start after his first round 1-over 72 to be 4-under through 11 holes on the Remarkables course after 5 birdies so far today.
• 11.30am – Chris Wood continues to be 3-under after six holes on the Coronet course to stretch his lead – now at 13-under. Movers are Shae Wools-Cobb (AUS) who is five-under through 8 holes and Tomoyo Ikemura (JPN) 3-under through 9 holes – b oth on 9-under for the tournament.
• 10.39 am – Overnight leader Chris Wood has added another birdie at the start of his second round to move to -11, with Tomoyo Ikemura at -9 and Shae Wools-Cobb at -8.
• 10.12 am – Shae Wools-Cobb is also making the most of the perfect conditions this morning. Three birdies in his first four holes today has seen him jump to -7 and outright third.
• 10.02 am – Brendan Jones and Yeongsu Kim are both -3 through five holes on the Coronet course to move to -5 for the tournament.
• 9.32 am – Japan’s Tomoyo Ikemura has birdied his first and moved into outright second at -7!
• 9.30 am – 2015 Champion, Jordan Zunic is currently -2 through five and looking to make his way up the leaderboard. Sitting with Jake at T8
• 9.30 am – 2012 New Zealand Open Champion, Jake Higginbottom is -1 through three and joins a host of players sitting at T8.
• 7.45 am – Question of the day – Can Chris Wood capitalise on his record-setting round yesterday?
• 7.40 am – Its another stunner here at Millbrook Resort for the start of round 2!

Round 1

• 7.45 pm Australian Chris Wood fired a course record 61 on the Remarkables course to grab the lead, cemented with a 12m birdie putt on the final hole.
• 6.30 pm Chris Wood has sparked the back nine at the Remarkables course at Milbrook Resort, with an eagle and three birdies in five holes to moe to 9-under and a three shot lead.
• 5.34 pm Australian Christopher Wood has powered his way to the top of the leaderboard at -7. With Vincent dropping his first shot of the day on the par 3 fourth, Wood has capitalised with three birdies and an eagle in four holes to hold a one shot lead with seven holes to go.
• 4.48 pm Asian Tour player Kieran Vincent has shot to the top of the leaderboard at -7. Vincent, who is from Zimbabwe and is the brother of LIV Tour player Scott Vincent, has scored five birdies and an eagle in the space of seven holes to be -7 through nine holes.
• 4.25 pm Japan’s Tatsuya Kodai is -5 through 12 holes on the Coronet course, just one shot off the five-strong lead group. Kodai started his round with an eagle on the 515m 11th hole and has three birdies.
• 3.18 pm Matthew Griffin, a winner here in 2016, has also made an impressive start to his opening round with an albatross on his first hole, a 494m par 5 on the Remarkables course. Griffin backed that up with a birdie on five, but dropped a shot on the next hole to be -3 through six holes.
• 3.13 pm Australian Deyen Lawson has mounted an afternoon charge, birdies on his first three holes on the Coronet course helping him to -3 through six. Korea’s Jaewoong Eom has five birdies and a bogey to be -4 through eight holes.
• 02.00 pm – We are now live on Sky Sport 6! 
• 01.49 pm – Gunn Charoenkul joins the pack at the top of the leaderboard with a round of 65! “I didn’t really drive it great today. I hit a lot of drives right into the rough, but I managed to get away with good lies. So, I was able to get on the green and give myself some chances.” – Gunn Charoenkul
• 01.19 pm – Steven Alker finishes his round with a -6 65! Currently sitting at T2
• 12.30 am – Lawry Flynn is our current leader sitting at -8 under through 16 holes. Cory Crawford is holding on to second at -7 and Japan’s Yosuke Asaji is sitting in third after completing his round of 64 -6.
• 11.00 am – Daniel Hilliar is now joint at the top of the leaderboard with Tom Power Horan, Lawry Flynn and Jay Mackenzie at -4. 
• 10.32 am – Steven Alker and Daniel Hillier have a bit of a gallery following them as they come through the turn. Alker nails his putt for a birdie, and Hillier with a great par. Both sitting at -3
• 09.41 am –  Kiwi favourite Steve Alker has birdied his fifth hole to go to -3 and outright second.
• 09.19 am – A host of players are currently sitting on -2 including Tom Power Horan, Steven Alker, Taisei Shimizu, Scott Hend, Gunn Charoenkul and Aaron Wilkin
• 09.05 am – Australian Jay Mackenzie has made a fast start on the Remarkables course. Currently -4 after 5 holes!
• 07.40 am – Make sure you have downloaded the New Zealand Open app available in the Apple App Store and on Google Play!
• 07.40 am – We are underway!