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THE MOROBE OPEN 1st May to 4th May 2008
Jeffress Creates PNG Glory
Steven Jeffress has come from 3 shots back in the final round to take out the 2008 Coca Cola Morobe Open in Lae, Papua New Guinea. After carding rounds of 68 and 70 on the first two days, Jeffress began the final round by making four birdies in the first seven holes on his way to a round of 66 and victory.
Chris Downes and Jason Ashcroft set the early pace on day one of the 2008 Morobe Open after carding rounds of 66 though it was a bunched leaderboard with more than half the field within 6 shots of the lead.
Day 2 proved to be a test for all players, with more than 4 inches of rain overnight producing very humid and sticky conditions. Doug Holloway though, made the most of his early tee time shooting 66 to go with his first round of 69 to move to 7 under par. The tight, par 71 layout at Lae Golf Club has a reputation for tough scoring but in 2008, the depth of the field was incredible and they put on a golfing clinic for the PNG golfing public. Kurt Carlson was the best of them shooting 65 and the low round of the tournament. He was followed by other players moving into contention on day 2 like Peter Wilson(66), Heath Reed(66) and Hamish Robertson(67), not to mention PNG veteran Chris Taylor who also carded 67.
At the conclusion of day 2 though it was Nathan Main who joined Holloway at the top of the leaderboard after Main shot a three under par round of 68 to go with his first round of 67 and book a spot in the final group on Sunday.
As the world looked on via the live scoring on the Morobe Open Website (www.laegolfclub.org.pg), the final round become a three way battle between Holloway, Bloomfield and Jeffress .After leading heading into the final round, Holloway was soon caught by Jeffress and heading into the back nine they were tied at 8 under par. Down the stretch though it was Jeffress who held strong who finished at 9 under par for the tournament. Bloomfield had a 12 foot putt on the final green to force a playoff, leaving it on the high side of the hole to hand Jeffress victory and finish in a tie for second with Doug Holloway. .This is one of the best tournaments I have ever been to. We were made to feel like heroes from the moment we arrived and the hospitality of the locals was amazing.. Said Jeffress .This is the type of golf course that you have to stay patient at. If you drive it well and you stay out of the trees then you can give yourself plenty of opportunities and luckily I took my opportunities when they came this week. Jeffress mentioned. The professional prizemoney has more than doubled in the past three years and with the help of Coca Cola and the support of the local community, the tournament is sure to keep moving in the right direction. .This was my first trip to PNG and it is the little things that really made the difference. We are given gifts from Coke on arrival, we have opportunities to put on a good show for the locals in shootouts and longest drives, and when you put that with $60,000 in prizemoney, then the tournament is always going to be a success from a professional.s point of view. mentioned last week.s SA PGA winner Heath Reed. Jeffress along with the other 45 professionals will now take their games to Port Moresby where the players will have the rare opportunity of winning a national title, the PNG Open.
Cocal Cola Morobe Open
$60,000.00
Par 71