Kiwi golf wrap: Steven Alker, Daniel Hillier bag top-10 finishes; Dame Lydia Ko, Ryan Fox struggle
Fellow Kiwi Daniel Hillier also found himself fighting for a title at the business end of the tournament at the Hainan Classic in China on the DP World Tour, ultimately finishing in a tie for ninth.
Hillier went into the final round sitting third on the leaderboard, just one shot off the lead, but posted his worst score of the tournament in his fourth round, with a one-over 73 seeing him finish at 10-under. Kazuma Kobori finished in a tie for 45th at two-under.
Bagging a top-10 finish did see Hillier move up the ladder in the Race to Dubai rankings – with the top 70 players at the end of the season going into one final tournament to find a winner, while the top 10 players not otherwise exempt earn a PGA Tour card.
Hillier now sits fifth, behind Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland) and English trio Laurie Canter, Tyrell Hatton and John Parry.
On the LPGA Tour, Dame Lydia Ko managed to fend off an injury early in the week to make the cut in the first major of the LPGA Tour season, finishing in a tie for 52nd at the Chevron Championship in Texas.
Ko struggled throughout the week, her best score being an even-par 72 in her second round. Ko finished the week as she started, with a final-round 73 seeing her finish the event five-over.
A five-way playoff was required to find a winner after a quintet of players finished on seven-under, with Japan's Mao Saigo outlasting Lindy Duncan (USA), Ariya Jutanugarn (Thailand), Ruoning Yin (China) and Hyo Joo Kim (South Korea).
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On the men's tour, the alternate shot format in the Zurich Classic teams event got the better of Ryan Fox and Garrick Higgo, with the duo failing to make the cut in New Orleans.
The pair made a strong start in round one – played in the four-ball, or best-ball, format – before a two-over 74 on day two ended their event early.
Starting on the back nine, they made a good start to sit two-under after five holes, but they sat just one-under at the turn following back-to-back bogeys before another birdie late in the nine.
Two bogeys and a double through the second half of their round ended their hopes of playing the weekend, with the duo missing the 10-under cut line by four shots.
On the LIV Golf tour, Kiwi Ben Campbell was forced to withdraw from the weekend's event in Mexico.
Campbell has had a decent start to his time on the tour in Bubba Watson's Range Goats team, with two top-20 finishes, including a third, through five events.
However, after a two-over opening round in Mexico, when he withdrew due to a wrist injury and was replaced by the reserve, American John Catlin, Campbell will be hopeful his injury heals quickly, with the tour moving to Korea this weekend.
Finally, on the Korn Ferry Tour, a feeder tour for the PGA, back-to-back 67s weren't enough for Harry Hillier to make the cut at the Veritex Bank Championship in Texas.
Hillier was eight-under after two rounds and missed the cut by a shot. American Johnny Keefer won the event at 30-under.
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