Sideline Sid Sports correspondant & historian www.sunlive.co.nz

Last week Sideline Sid spent a couple of hours watching the opening morning of the Carrus Open at the Tauranga Golf Club.

The professional tournament is part of the Charles Tour, and with $50,000 in the pot, it proved a solid attraction for the 54 pros who teed off last Thursday.

A spot by the entrance to the golf club car-park, for a not-so-mobile golf fan, provided an ideal place to catch the action on the tenth green before crossing to road to watch players tee off on the 11th hole.

Unlike the American PGA tournaments viewed on television, where spectators seem to try and outdo each other with raucous cheers and comments, the Carrus Open is testament to the laidback kiwi approach at our professional tournaments.

Many of the players carry their own bags without the assistance of a caddy, and duffed drives or a missed put is met with a wry smile or a steely glint in the eye.

There are no histrionics on display, with the field of seasoned pros and aspiring stars simply getting on with their game.

Two Western Bay of Plenty professionals at different ends of their professional careers made their mark on the tournament, finishing in the top ten.

Jared Pender, who could probably play the venue blindfolded after learning his craft on the course, showed plenty of local knowledge to finish nine-under for a share of seventh place.

The former touring professional, who now teaches golf at Te Puke Golf Club, picked up the fourth place professional cheque with rounds of 66, 70, 67 and 68.

Just a solitary shot behind Pender was fledgling Mount Maunganui professional Hayden Beard. The former Mount Maunganui College head boy gained a Waikato University degree before turning to the professional ranks late last year.

In spite of the wet weather interrupting play on Sunday, Hayden shot one of the hottest rounds of the last day, with a 66 to go with his opening score of 68 and a pair of 69s.

Mark Brown, who has been as high as 64th in the world golf rankings some years ago, won back-to-back Carrus Opens, beating off the challenge of Jim Cusdin and amateur star Joshua Munn by a single stroke.

Of course, the sport of rugby has grabbed all the sporting headlines in recent days, with the 2015 version of the Rugby World Cup kicking off with a fairly mundane encounter between England and Fiji that was mostly notable for the continual intervention of the TMO.

However, few were prepared for the shock defeat of heavyweights South Africa by the Brave Blossoms of Japan.

At home, the Bay of Plenty Steamers made a brave challenge to bring the 'Log of Wood” back from Hawkes Bay's vice-like grip, going down by six points.

In the last play of the game, the Steamers appeared to have turned the ball over from a Magpies scrum feed, however the referee blew his whistle in Hawkes Bay's favour, with the home side retaining the Ranfurly Shield courtesy of a 23-17 victory.

The Steamers' destiny this season sits firmly in their own hands, as they currently occupy third place in the ITM Cup championship title race.

Next up is a must-win encounter in the far north against Northland this Friday night, before meeting what is sure to be a big Wellington challenge the following Sunday at Bay Park.

It would be great for Steamers' fans for their team to go into their last ITM Cup regular season match with a semi-finals place locked away.

However, the match-up with Otago in Dunedin will probably determine the success, or otherwise, of their 2015 campaign.

Go the Steamers!