HKGA | SENIORS OPEN
Barltrop Holds on for Maiden Win
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Kiwi claims first international seniors event, while Hong Kong’s Joe Pethes takes a share of second Photography by Charles McLaughlin, Daniel Wong and Kimi Tai
ew Z ea la nd’s M ichael Barltrop held off his elder brot her Rod ney a nd Hong Kong’s Joe Pethes to win the Hong Kong Seniors Open Amateur Championship by the narrowest of margins at Fanling in early December. Barltrop, 56, fired a 73 in the final round to finish with a three-day total of 222 (nine-overpar) to claim his first international victory on his debut appearance in the event. Rodney Barltrop, long considered the finest senior amateur in New Zealand history, finished alongside Pethes in a share of second, a shot back. “He’s had the wood over me for a long time now so to get one over him was very nice,” said the younger Barltrop of his brother. Michael last played in Hong Kong in 1984 when he was part of the New Zealand Eisenhower Cup side. “I haven’t won anything in about 30 years, so I’m very happy,” he added. Michael, who held a share of the overnight lead with England’s Stuart Pond, birdied two of his first six holes over the Old Course to build a handy advantage, but let things slip with a bogey at the ninth and a double bogey at the 10th. A further bogey at the 15th cut his lead to one, but he was able to regroup and par the remaining three holes to fend off his closest challengers. “I got off to a good start and established a decent lead but I almost gave it back to the rest of them around the turn,” admitted Michael, a member at Royal Auckland Golf Club. “But I played nicely after that and look forward to returning next year to try and defend my title.” Pethes, who was looking to become the first local player to win the championship since Terry Collins in 2004, carded a best-of-the-day 72. “I three-putted three times but I also made some good putts, so I’m not at all disappointed with finishing second,” said the Hong Kong Golf Club member, who had the consolation of winning the 60-64 age division.
Michael Barltrop is all smiles after his oneshot victory at Fanling; Hong Kong’s Joe Pethes (opposite) carded a solid 73 in the final round to finish in a tie of second 44
HK Golfer・JAN 2013
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HK Seniors Open Championship Standings 1 2= 4= 6= 8 9 10 11 12= 15= 17 18= 20=
Michael Barltrop Joe Pethes Rodney Barltrop Stefan Albinski Peter King Barry Downing Stuart Pond Kai Flint Murray Martin Alex Ho Junichi Manai Robert Choy Tony Taylor William Chung Isamu Takemoto KC Choo Peter Aherne Lee Kab Soo Donald Moore Akio Tanaka Gregory Conley
New Zealand Hong Kong New Zealand Australia Australia United Kingdom United Kingdom Germany New Zealand Chinese Taipei Japan Canada Hong Kong Hong Kong Hong Kong Canada Hong Kong Hong Kong Hong Kong Japan France
76 73 73 77 74 72 76 74 73 78 74 73 76 75 74 77 76 75 73 76 79 80 74 78 75 75 83 76 78 80 76 84 75 82 80 75 83 78 76 81 80 76 85 79 78 82 81 79 81 78 84 83 79 82 79 82 83 83 80 82 76 85 84
222 223 223 225 225 228 228 232 233 234 235 237 237 237 242 242 243 244 244 245 245
HK Golfer・JAN 2013
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Brothers Michael and Rodney Barltrop
England’s Stuart Pond
Alex Ho, Stefan Albinski, Kai Flint, Michael Barltrop, Joe Pethes, Stuart Pond, Rodney Barltrop and Peter King
Stefan Albinski
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HK Golfer・JAN 2013
Peter Aherne
Rodney Barltrop
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