Pacesetter Pike Says He's Not Yet Good Enough To Turn Professional
The Age
Monday November 27, 2006
AARON Pike went on the ride of his short life, and it lasted all the way to the 18th green at Huntingdale yesterday.
Needing a birdie to have a chance against Englishman Justin Rose, he found the green with his second shot and waved his cap to the crowds leaning over the balconies from the sponsors' marquees as he strode up to the putting surface.Pike stood over the long putt and gave it a rap. But he had underestimated the speed of the wind-exposed 18th green, a fact he put down to inexperience and "not playing this course every day for 10 years like these guys have". His putt raced past the hole, trickled off the green and into a bunker, ending his chances. A couple of minutes later he tapped in for a bogey and the new cult figure acknowledged his fans.In many ways, Pike was the story of the week. A 21-year-old amateur from Brisbane via Darwin, he had threatened to become the first amateur to win an Australasian tour event since Brett Rumford in 1999.Yesterday, he gesticulated, waved his arms and cussed at the ball all through his final-round 74. Seemingly out of contention after a bogey on the 10th, he holed out from a greenside bunker for an eagle at the par-five 14th and suddenly shared the lead with Rose. "All the pacesetting was on me," he said. "I definitely thought, 'I can win this tournament.' "Nerves did not seem to faze him. "I was nervous, but it wasn't a fact that I couldn't cope with it," he said.Not surprisingly, Pike faded at the end to finish fourth at nine under par, three shots behind Rose. He said the performance would not alter the timing of his ambition to turn professional. A member of the national amateur squad, he will represent Australia overseas next year."Maybe if I'd won, it would have put some thoughts into my mind, but I'm not good enough to win so I'm not good enough to turn professional," he said. "If you can't win, then what's the point of being out there?"I think (I need) a year of playing top-level golf, going over to America and playing amateur tournaments, and going over to Britain as well. I think that experience would probably steady me and get me ready for it."Afterwards, he said the week had been beneficial. "There's a lot of things you can take away. Being able to put myself in a position to win. I was tied for the lead with three holes to play, which was good. I think the experience is what you can take away because you can't get it anywhere else but being in the situation."
© 2006 The Age