The Age from Melbourne, Victoria, Australia • Page 39

SPORT 5- THE AGE MONDAY 23 NOVEMBER 1998 Howell A battler keeps his head, then follows dreams plays Ms eaurt onit PGA GOLF 1 lfVM ifi" 1 It I rXt i i I 1 f1'1 hi r-1. J. thyroid gland that, after being diagnosed three years ago, affected Marantz's game for more than a year. "I was losing a hell of a lot of; weight and my energy levels were quite low," he says. "I would play about three holes and get dizzy and almost fall over.

I thought It might have been the alcohol, but no. My mother actually noticed and said, 'You better see a quack', and took me to the doctors and they dls-; covered It." When his health returned, Marantz tried to play the Swedish 1 mini-tour, but struggled to break' through. "I got my arse kicked in," is how -he puts it. "They were a bit too good and they were pretty dedicated, so 1 1 thought that's how dedicated I've -got to be. So I came back here and I started practising a little bit and started playing pro-ams and that -was it." Or It was until he met SantuIIo, a qualified psychologist who works as a stockbroker.

She was willing to move to Australia, but could not get a visa. "We can do it the easy way and get married, but we are not ready for that, neither of us yet," says Marantz. SantuIIo flew to Australia to watch Marantz play this week. -Yesterday, he put on quite a show. After five birdies and an eagle in his first 16 holes, he had started to get greedy.

"I was hoping to par 17 and birdie 18 and shoot 64," says Marantz, who Instead watched his tee-shot 1 skip over the back of the 17th green, -from where he made bogey. He took three to get down from the edge of; the par-five 18th for a par. "But as it goes, 66? That'll do," he When he drove to the New South Wales Golf Club yesterday morning to play his final round In the Australian PGA, Paul Marantz had his bags packed. Tomorrow, he is due to fly to New York with his American girlfriend Anne-Marie SantuIIo and, with no rights to play even on the small United States mini-tours, the future of his golf career was uncertain. Marantz could try to gain some invitations to the secondary Nike tour, but, more likely, he was sacrificing at least part of his career to follow his heart.

"But, as I say, there are a few more important things than golf," says the 28-year-old, who met SantuIIo while playing the Vanuatu Open in August. Or, that's the way it seemedtuntil when Marantz, from Campbelltown on the outskirts of Sydney, shot a brilliant round of six-under 66, the best of the tournament to Jump from five-over to one-under and, suddenly, put his well-laid plans in doubt. Last summer, Marantz made the cut in only one tournament and won $600. "So don't ask me for a loan," he says. But yesterday, he was probably good for a few dollars after collecting $16,200 for finishing ninth.

Although Marantz is ineligible to play In next week's Tournament Players Championship In Brisbane because he did not enter, his performance here could potentially earn him starts in bigger tournaments and bring fulfilment to a substantial that has so far been exploited only on the small NSW PGA pro-am circuit. In those Marantz, who can launch his driver-up to 290 metres In calm conditions, has assumed star status. He has won 25 pro-ams in the past 18 months and holds seven course records, which has ensured a reasonable living but not exactly vaulted him to national celebrity. Not that Marantz, who rarely seems ruffled on the course, has been frustrated by his Inability to break through on the main tour. "Not really.

As I said, I've been taking it easy. I'm pretty casual on the course, so there's no need to get frustrated. You get frustrated In this game and you're a shot duck. And Illness knocked me out In deciding what I wanted to do and where I wanted to be after my apprenticeship, so that was a bit tough." The illness was a hyperactive AUSTRALIAN PGA CHAMPIONSHIP After 72 holes 275: Howell (Eng) 69 66 72 68 282: Ames (Trin) 70 71 73 68 Price (Old) 69 68 76 69 284: Spence (Vic) 75 73 69 67 727469 Partridge (Tas) 75 71 72 68, Willis (NSW) 75 69 69 73 Allan (Vic) 73 74 70 69 287: Marantz (NSW) 74 69 78 66 288: Stephens (Vic) 74 75 67 72 289: Coles (NSW) 73 78 68 70 Kerry (NSW) 76 74 72 67 290: Moseley (WA) 74 75 72 69 and second respectively on this year's European money list so he's used to mixing with success. Now he has it for the first time.

Westwood was playing in Japan these past few days and he faxed Howell a message after the second round, when the Englishman led Price by two shots. "The good news is if you shoot a low score at the weekend, you're going to win," it read. Some help! Howell loved it as he always expected to win. "From my first tee shot on the first day, I knew I was going to win. You say that at every tournament, but sometimes you don't actually believe it.

To do it (win) was great," Howell said. "What did I win by?" he asked, turning the questions back on the media Great," he responded to the reply. One has to assume he was so thrilled in victory, even though he knew it was coming for a long time, that he hadn't bother to check by how much. "It was nice coming down the last nine knowing I was totally in control if I just kept my head. It was nice to win my first tournament without it being too tight at the end.

You've always got that nagging doubt in the back of your mind that if it does all start to go wrong it's going to look like a big collapse," Howell said. The word "choke" was never used, but we knew what he meant. Apart from the obligatory celebratory drink last night, there remained only a few loose ends for Howell to tie up. One was getting tickets to the Test cricket in Brisbane for today and tomorrow from good friend and English batsman Graham Thorpe. "I've got to ring him tonight so hopefully he's had a good day," he said.

Was 70 not out good enough we wonder? The other is how to word his column for the British magazine, Golf Weekly, for which he is the professional on the road. "God, I don't know. What's my first paragraph." Maybe golfer survives heart attack to win the Australian PGA championship. Just a suggestion anyway. By PETER STONE the Fleet Street tabloids, when they get wind of the story, will probably have young Englishman David Howell surviving a heart attack to win the $600,000 Australian PGA championship at La Perouse yesterday, which is far from the truth, but there were times when his heart did race without due cause, i It wasn't as if he was in danger of losing after taking a six-shot lead into the final round over the linksland of the New South Wales Golf Club, for his was a faultless performance in compiling a four-under-par 68 to finish at 13-under, seven shots ahead of Queenslander Terry Price and Trinidad-Tobago's Stephen Ames.

The win netted him $108,000 in prize money, enough to boost the heart beat of the man in the street if it happened in Lotto, but not for Howell who, in three years as a professional has been winless while collecting' $1.3 million on the European tour alone. On the 16th yesterday, he grabbed his caddie Jason Hempleman's hand and drew it to the right side of his chest. "Look how fast it's going," he said to Hempleman, a three-marker in golf who has been his mate since they were both aged 12. Eyebrows were raised in query 'over the incident in his media Conference Tabloids stand by. i "I've got a bit of a heart condition fpr the last couple of years.

My heart races and not always when I'm under pressure or stress. It happened quite lot today. I'm going to have it checked out when I get home because I can't put up with that every time I'm doing well in a tournament," Howell said. "When I squat down and mark a ball, it's quite bizarre. I'm going to go to a hospital when I get home where they'll put me on a heart monitor for a day and see if that brings up anything." Others, especially Price, Ames and Sydney's Rob Willis, were far more stressed than Howell yesterday as diey began their own tournament within the tournament; the battle for second place after it became clear in the first few holes that Howell wasn't going to throw his lead away.

Every shot the 23-year-old Englishman played was calculated, his policy being no-risk golf with irons off some tees, content to take the par rather than press for a birdie. Four birdies came, and not a single bogey to mar the card. I Howell comes from the same management group, headed by a gregarious chap by the name of Chubby Chandler, as Lee Westwood and Ireland's Darren Clarke third said. What the unexpected result does for his career, Marantz is still unsure. "Really I have no idea this time," he says.

"I'll just fly by the seat of my pants. That's the way I've always done It." Only with $16,200 in the bank, in slightly better style than expected. Faldo sets up English win The United States, Scotland and Argentina tied for third on 571 three shots behind England, which had finished second three times but -never won in the 43 previous tourna-; ments. Australia's Peter O'Malley and -Richard Green ended a further three shots behind in equal ninth place. O'Malley fired a fine five-under- -par 67, and a five-under four-round total, while Green signed for an even -par 72, and a three-over 291.

AUCKLAND, SUNDAY Nick Faldo served notice he was back near his best on the eve of next month's Australian Open by setting up England's first World Cup of Golf win here today. Faldo returned to the winner's circle for the first time in almost two years after partner David Carter sank an six-metre putt for birdie at the final hole to clinch a historic two-shot victory over Italy. Englishmen David Howell, 23, jubilant after winning the $600,000 Australian PGA championship at La Perouse in Sydney yesterday by seven shots. picture: steve christo Levity brings smiles and regrets Suspended riders to fulfil commitments RACING "barf t.v-.iu!:.! By ANDREW EDDY Trainer Rick Hore-Icy unearthed a talented two-year-old in Levity at Sandown yesterday and, in the process, discovered the reasons why champion stallion Rory's Jester has been such a remarkable record-breaker at stud. Levity, who took out the Springvale Plate yesterday at only her-second race start, is the first horse Hore-Lacy has trained to be sired by the stallion who has been at the top of the list for juvenile winners for the best part of a decade.

Although thrilled with Levity's two-length win, Hore-Lacy lamented that he had not sought progeny of Rory's Jester until buying Levity for $45,000 at the Sydney Easter sales. "I love training them, he said yesterday. "They eat everything and they don't go sninsore. I should have got on to the caper a bit earlier." Hore-Lacy bought Levity at the sales not because of the Rory's Jester influence but because the filly was out -of former good racemare Prin-. ss Pushy, a Herbert Power Handicap winner and dam of Hore-Lacy's talented three-year-old Hamlet.

And Hamlet, who is being aimed at the WA Derby in Perth over the summer after being recently gelded, Levity is also expected to go on to" better races in the future. "I'm'not sure of the quality of the field but she won and I suppose that's all that matters," he said. "She's pretty green still but I'd expect her to get further." IT WAS no surprise for a few keen traekwatchers that there was a sizeable plunge yesterday on John Sadler filly Act Of Devotion, who took put the Gipsy Queen Handicap. Out of legs? Hardly! Runners early in the Ascot Handicap at Sandown yesterday. Picture: joe armao By TONY BOURKE The days of jockeys juggling 'their advance riding engagements to suit themselves after they have been suspended are over.

Under a new rule, which will be introduced next week, jockeys have to fulfil any riding engagements in the three days following the day they are suspended. Previously, they had the choice of starting their suspensions immediately or completing any riding engagements in the following two days. Now, only the stewards will have the power to make any variation of the new rule. Chief steward Des Gleeson said the Victoria Racing Club committee had approved the new rule last Friday and it would come into force from the beginning of next month. Gleeson said the rule had the support of the Australian Trainers' Association and the Thoroughbred Racehorse Owners' Association, and jockeys he had spoken to had also approved.

Flaws in the previous rule were highlighted early in the spring carnival when Shane Dye was suspended at the night meeting at Moonee Valley on 25 September. Dye haggled with the stewards for about an hour over the question of penalty because of the importance of meetings coming up. Stewards allowed Dye to stnrt his suspension TRAINER Peter Hayes said yesterday he was unlikely to take any horses to Perth for this year's summer carnival. Hayes had several horses entered for the feature races, including Penghulu in next Saturday's $252,000 group one weight-for-age Fruit 'n' Veg Stakes, to be run over 1800 metres at Ascot, and Backdrop, Ihtiram, Metal Trader and Prince Charming in the $364,000 Perth Cup (3200m) on 1 January. Hayes said that although he was pleased with Penghulu's improved run to finish a close third in the Rawdon Handicap (1600m) at Sandown on Saturday it was not enough to Influence him on a Perth ttip.

"It's up to (Colin Hayes), who manages the horse for the owner, but I don't think he'll be going," Hayes said. As far as the other horses Hayes has entered in Perth, he said most of them had reached the end of their campaigns and would probably be spelled. AFTER last week's annual meeting of the Victoria Amateur Turf Club, it was reported that long-serving committeeman Mai Seccull had stepped down as vice-chairman of the club and would be replaced by the equally long-serving Kevin Heffernan. In fact, the new vice-chairman Is Kevin Hayes. after riding in Sydney the following day and end it at midnight on 10 October, which meant he could not fulfil his engagement at Moonee Valley on Sunday, 27 September.

Trainer Russell Cameron knew nothing of Dye's decision not to ride on the Sunday and had to find a late replacement rider for filly St Clemens Belle, who dead-heated for first in the Bill Stutt Stakes. Dye subsequently won an appeal against the severity of his suspension and was able to resume riding at Caulfield on 10 October. As It turned out, Kenwood Melody gave him his only group one success of the spring carnival in the Caulfield Guineas. Gleeson believes the new rule is the fairest for all concerned, including the jockeys, and the stewards have the power to intervene in special cases. "If a jockey was suspended over Something more serious than, say, careless riding, it would obviously be desirable that he was not able to continue riding for the next three days," he said.

With seven-day-a-week racing and jockeys taking rides several meetings ahead, the new rule means owners and trainers will be inconvenienced as little as possible. Sadler revealed, after the filly had been supported from 71 to 92, that she had beaten recent Flemington open sprint winner Bomber Bill at last Tuesday, she edged out group-one-winning sprinter Toledo in a gallop at Moonee Valley, i "She galloped with Bomber Bill and blew him away and then had the measure of Toledo when they galloped at Moonee Valley, so it gave us some confidence going into today," Sadler said. Act Of Devotion Is by Umatilla out of former good sprinting mare Golden Prayer, who had thrown Sandown Guineas placegetter Kentucky Blue, so Sadler hopes his filly will, also get over some ground. "I'd be surprised if she didn't get a mile. I thought she did as much as she had lo.do today," he said.

Act Of Devotion is unlikely to be the only promising filly to come out of yesterday's rare, as the runner-up Tarazeel worked home Impressively at her first start for Crnnhourne trainer Colin Aldersnn. Tarazeel, by the all-conquering Zabcel, had one run for Alan Jones in New Zealand, but five weeks ago he sent the filly to Alderson In the nope she could measure up to the triple crown races in the autumn. Aldersnn said yesterday that Tarazeel had shown him enough, when she ran home strongly to grab second placing, for him to put her away fry a few weeks and bring her back for the fillies' triple crown. BENblGO trainer Noel Bath notched his first city winner for many years, but looks sure to gain many more after Dwowcha scored the easiest win of the day In the Time And Tide Handicap. Bath said Dwowcha, who won yesterday by four-and-a-half lengths, would have a short spell and be set for some of the good three-year-old races in the autumn before embarking on a trip to Queensland for the winter carnival.

Also training her first city winner was Cranbourne-based former Kiwi rider Judy Mawer, who prepared Golden Light to win the Stayers Handicap..