Hah. I know. Unbelievable, isn’t it? But sometimes it feels like yesterday, to be honest. People remind me of it all the time, and it’s always there, which is quite nice.
Have your feelings about the win evolved over the years?
I’m honoured and privileged to have my name on that trophy, no doubt. So that’s probably what has changed. I fully understand now what it means to have your name on your national trophy. Michael Hendry is the only Kiwi to have won it since. Only two of us in the last 20 years, and only 10 of us in the last 60 years. It’s pretty cool.
So let’s go back to 2003. Be honest — did you go to Middlemore thinking you could win the New Zealand Open?
No. I finished the 2002 season and it was the first time I kept my card on the Aussie tour. I had quite a good end of the year, and finished second at the New South Wales Open. So I was pretty happy, and had money in the bank for once. The New Zealand Open was the first event for 2003 and I was feeling pretty relaxed and thinking, this is cool, I’ve got a schedule planned out for the year, and I just went into it not really expecting anything in particular.
What stands out in your memory from the first two or three rounds?
The whole week, really, I was just in a different mind space. It was no secret that I’d had some issues with the old brain and attitude in the golf course.
I seem to recall a story talking about a propensity to ‘‘throw a wobbly’’ at times.
Hah. Yeah. But that week was unbelievable. It was like I was in a different world. In the zone, 100%. Just a different place to anywhere I’d ever been in a golf tournament. Nothing seemed to bother me. If I had a six-footer for par, I’d just knock it in. So that was a big difference. Every putt I had — I just holed everything. That was remarkable.
And at some stage, you thought, ‘hang on, I might win this?’
Yeah, it was interesting. I was two shots back after three rounds. Chris Downes was in front of me, and we were in the last group. I hadn’t had much media coverage throughout the week, which was quite nice. People weren’t asking me ‘How are you feeling? Are you going to win? Blah blah blah’. Even going into the last round, I think I spoke to someone for 30 seconds before I teed off but that was it. And as soon as I teed off, I was away.
My memory was jogged when I read the story I wrote at the time. Coming up to the 18th, you’ve got a four-shot lead and victory is in the bag. And your coach at the time, Simon Thomas, sees you pull out the driver, and he just groans.
Ha ha. I’d just laced one down 17. Hit it a mile, and I was feeling pretty confident. All I was trying to do was hit it right up the left side of 18 and I would be fine. I double crossed it and whoosh, out of town it went. But I was able to recover.
And the feeling when the ball drops into the 18th hole and you’re New Zealand Open champion?
Um, yeah. I was pretty emotional. It was just, wow, you know. There it is. I’ve done it. I was lucky enough to have my other coach, Mal Tongue, at the Open. Simon Thomas was waiting for me at the airport when I flew home, and that was pretty cool. The next few days were pretty surreal.
Apart from the glory and the pay cheque, did you get anything? Replica trophy?
No, nothing. Just a handshake. I had the trophy for probably a couple of months but then had to take it back. I’ve got the 18th flag. It’s just rolled up in my box of memorabilia.
So, you’re the New Zealand Open champion, you’re 27 — what is Mahal Pearce thinking about his future career?
Yeah, I was just thinking, right, time to get out there and chase the dream. Which, after trying to do for six months, was probably the wrong move. I travelled through America and Europe just chasing things, and it didn’t pan out. I spent a tonne of cash and left my family behind for months, and I looked back on it and realised it was probably the wrong move. I went everywhere and all I got out of it was gold status on Air New Zealand and Singapore Airlines, ha ha. I didn’t achieve much, and it probably set me back a bit. I thought I was good enough but the real world of professional golf was bloody tough going.
You grabbed another win in 2004, at the old Dunedin Classic at Chisholm Park. Did you enjoy that?
That was good. I played stunning that week as well. I know it was on home soil, and it wasn’t an amazingly strong field, but you’ve still got to put it in the hole. I shot 22-under that week.
Can you describe how the following 10years of your professional golfing career went?
Good and bad, to be honest. I tried to go to a number of tour schools and didn’t succeed, so in 2004 I was just in Australia and New Zealand again. I had some good results. In 2005, I managed to get on the Asian Tour, and I had two really good seasons there. By 2007, I started to go downhill a little bit, and it was a tough, tough year. I had full rights on the Asian Tour, and I was playing for good money, but it just wasn’t happening. Mentally, I was doing terribly. I kept my card but again didn’t get many results, so I gave that tour away, and just played the Australian tour for five or six more years. It just progressively got harder and harder for me. I had a young family, and I was starting to wonder what I was doing. It had become a bloody hard job.
And in 2014, aged 39, you just knew you were done and you made the decision to retire?
Yeah, I’d been struggling away, but hadn’t made a cut for weeks on end. I was playing the Australian Open, which I always loved. I played pretty solid the first day, and got off to a hot start the second day. Then I just had a couple of bad shots coming home and next minute, I had missed the cut by one shot. I just walked off the green, signed my card and threw my bag in the car. I saw the guy I’d been playing with and I just said, thanks mate, but I’m done. That was it. I had $2 to my name and a ticket home. So I had to find a job.
You mentioned mental health, and the stress on your family. Can you elaborate on how you were feeling towards the end of your golfing career?
Yeah, I wasn’t great, to be honest. Golf had ground me down. Not the playing of the game, but just the constant travel and being away from the family. It had hit me really hard. My boy was just about to start high school as well, and I thought I should be around for that.
How old are your children now, and are they into golf?
Zac is 23 and Hannah is 15. My boy plays a bit of golf with his mates — for a laugh. But
my daughter doesn’t want a bar of it.
And just to confirm, you don’t have a third child in America called Scottie Scheffler? Am I the only one who sees the likeness?
Hah, no.
How often do you play golf now?
When I retired, I didn’t touch the clubs for a good six months. But I’ve actually started to play a bit more in recent times. My partner loves golf so we go out on holidays and stuff, or scoot up to Balmacewen for nine holes.
Steven Alker has turned into a world beater since turning 50. You’re three years away — what do you reckon?
Hah. Well, I rejoined the PGA last year, to start playing a few pro-ams. I’m no Steven Alker. Every part of my body aches. But maybe I wouldn’t mind teeing it up somewhere and having a wee play.
You’re now the boss at Golf Otago. How long have you been in that position?
Four years in this role. I saw the job come up and I felt like a bit of a change so threw my hat in the ring. It’s nice to be in an industry I understand and have some passion for. There were a couple of years after retiring where I hated golf but now I’ve certainly got my passion for the game again. I just want to see all our clubs thriving. We’ve got a vast spread of different clubs but they’re all dealing with similar issues. Golf is just going through the roof. Covid was a real catalyst for the sport booming.
Will you be at Millbrook for the New Zealand Open next week?
I will be there in some capacity. I asked for an invite but they declined, which is fair enough. But I’m trying Monday qualifying at Cromwell and we will see if I can sneak in that way.
