Flood-stricken course

DIVOTS

Feilding Golf Club in New Zealand woke up to a rude morning last week, when its 12th hole was destroyed by floods caused by the overflowing of Oroua River. Nearly 150 metres of stopbank was washed away, leaving the steps leading to the tee dangling like a diving board over the river.

And there is water just below. This is the 100thyear at the club and it is planning a celebration in April. But now all that budget will probably have to be utilised cleaning up and re-constructing the course. The club was hit by floods last in 1992 and had lost some land then. Now it seems the 12th is gone. The course right now is littered with carrots, parsnips and potatoes from nearby farm lands.

Jack shoots his age

There is nothing more exciting for a senior golfer than to shoot his age. That happened recently to a golfer no less than Jack Nicklaus. The 64-year-old legend, accomplished the feat on a golf course in Hawaii.

He shot his age while preparing for the Wendy's Champions Skins Game. He played nine holes of a pro-am in the morning and nine holes of practice in the afternoon. His scores? 32 and 32. It was an unofficial score but no less thrilling. When he reached the 18 and didn't birdie the last hole, he thought he had shot a 65. But he had forgotten that he had eagled the second hole.

Swede makes a comeback

The colourful Swede Jesper Parnevik, whose resurgence has been a big topic this season, has his confidence back with three finishes in top seven in his first five events on US PGA Tour this year. He is also looking forward to a place on Europe's Ryder Cup team for this September. The 38-year-old Parnevik has already earned $593,067 in the US, and that is more than what he managed from 31 events in 2003. He is now 15th in the all-important European Ryder Cup world points list.

Parnevik who wears fashionable golf attire and a baseball cap with upturned peak represented Europe at the Ryder Cup in 1997, 1999 and 2002.

- Bogeyman