Ash Barty placed on her aggressive face as soon as once more in her quest for the New Zealand Professional-Am Championship with a superb chip from left of the sixteenth inexperienced at Millbrook all of the proof anybody wanted to counsel ought to she wish to, a sport-swap might occur.
The retired grand slam champ discovered herself within the uncommon place of being outdoors the highest 100 early in her aggressive return to sport as golfer within the New Zealand Open earlier than a late rally helped her discover a extra aggressive place on the leaderboard.
Barty, who shocked the sporting world when she introduced her retirement aged simply 25 following her Australian Open triumph in 2022, was enjoying alongside good friend {and professional} Louis Dobbelaar at Millbrook Resort in Queenstown.
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The three-time grand slam champion, who performs off a handicap of 4, was in a four-ball alongside Australian cricket legend Ricky Ponting and his professional accomplice, Marcus Fraser, within the two-player, best-ball occasion.
After making it to only four-under by their opening 9 holes, the Barty occasion was sitting in a tie for 108th on the leaderboard, and eight-shots behind the opening day tempo.
However amid parts of sophistication from Barty there got here the gorgeous chip on the sixteenth to rescue a par and the now 27-year-old and her enjoying accomplice completed at seven-under, after a closing gap birdie from Dobbelaar, and in a tie for forty seventh general.
Ponting and his accomplice fared a contact higher attending to eight-under, together with a superb birdie from the previous Take a look at captain on the par three sixteenth, adopted by one from his accomplice on the seventeenth.
Victorian Matthew Griffin and veteran Scott Hend shared the general lead within the match after the opening day at seven-under.
Griffin, 40, stated his effort might result in a rethink in his plan to turn into a part-time golfer after he started a transition to life away from being a full-time golfer.
“I felt like I had been enjoying all proper the final couple of years however I hadn’t put the outcomes on the board,“ he stated.
“We’ve acquired one other occasion in a few weeks at The Nationwide and after that I’ll be taking care of the children at dwelling for just a few months through the 12 months.
“However with the Asian Tour co-sanctioning (the NZ Open), if I may be on the proper finish of the leaderboard on Sunday you by no means know, it is likely to be a bit extra golf.”