Golf: Jones fires on DP World Tour

Golf NZ

Sam Jones recorded his best DP World Tour finish of his young professional career at the Soudal Open over the weekend while Rebekah Blackwell-Chin got over the line at the NT Amateur in Australia.

Alongside Momoka Kobori’s top-five finish on the Ladies European Tour, this weekend’s results further highlight the Kiwi talent beginning to shine through on the world stage.

Jones, who earned DP World Tour status after progressing through three gruelling stages of Q-School, led after an opening nine-under-62 at Rinkven International Golf Club in Belgium, which included an albatross at the par 5 17th. He went on to shoot 70, 70, and a closing 67 to finish 15-under-par in a share of seventh, three shots behind the winner, Spain’s Nacho Elvira.

The left-handed Taranaki professional said his albatross came as a surprise as he almost played the par 5 as a three-shotter.

“I thought about three iron off the tee but hit three wood, hit it nicely and covered a bit more of the corner than I thought I was going to.

“Got up there and we've got 248 (metres) to the flag. I said to Keith (his caddie) it was a perfect three-wood, into the breeze a little bit.

“I was going well already at that stage so I thought if I make a bogey here it's no big deal to drop one, so just hit it, flushed it and called for it to be good in the air and it was, just smacked the flagstick and went straight in.”

He moves up 41 places in the Race to Dubai Rankings into 127th.

While he recorded his best finish, Auckland amateur Rebekah Blackwell-Chin won the NT Amateur Championship by making three birdies in her final four holes to win by a couple of shots.

She shot rounds of 71, 71, 75, and 71 at Darwin Golf Club, finishing even-par for the tournament. New Zealand Women’s Amateur champion Faith Vui finished in equal fourth, six shots back of Blackwell-Chin.

Meanwhile, Momoka Kobori recorded her third top 10 of the year on the Ladies European Tour.

Kobori finished in a share of fifth at the Jabra Ladies Open at the Evian Resort Golf Club, shooting 72, 71, and 67 in France to finish on a three-under total, seven shots behind the winner.

Finally, Michael Hendry finished in a tie for 28th at the Gate Way to The Open Mizuno Open while Ryan Fox finished in a share of 32nd at the Charles Schwab Challenge.