The New Zealand Age Group and New Zealand Secondary Golf School Championships return after a one year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The line-up at Pukekohe Golf Course includes teams from Macleans College and Saint Kentigern College.
The Age Group and Secondary Schools Championships have not been played since 2020 at Ngaruawahia Golf Club. The 2022 event got underway at Pukekohe Golf Club today and runs until Friday, September 2, with 150 of the country’s age group players set to test their golf against their peers.
The New Zealand Age Groups are played over all three days with a cut after two rounds, and the New Zealand Secondary Schools Championship is being played alongside over the first two days.
In the Under 19 Girl’s division, Eunseo Choi (Takapuna) is expected to be near the top of the leaderboard, having just returned home from Paris, where she represented New Zealand at the World Amateur Teams Championship. She also attends Pinehurst College in Auckland and is also expected to be contending for the Secondary School’s competition over days one and two.
She will have some stiff competition in fellow Pinehurst College teammate Yeonsoo Son (North Shore) and South Island Under 19 champion Sumin Kang (Wakatipu Junior), who has just made the Women’s Amateur Asia Pacific field.
The Under 19 Boy’s division should also be closely contested.
Zack Swanwick (Napier) will be tough to beat, having won two district stroke play titles in the last couple of months. Daniel Freeman (Remuera) and Stephen Liu (Whitford Park) are a couple of young players that could also feature near the top of the leaderboard come the end of the week.
Meanwhile, in the Under 16 divisions, Robby Turnbull (Remuera) and Cooper Moore (Clearwater) will be tough to beat. In April, Turnbull won the South Island Under 16s, holding off a fast-finishing Moore. Chloe Lam (Remuera) should feature in the Under 16 Girls too.
Tournament director Phil Aickin says it’s been a while since we have had the country’s best age group golfers at the same location.
“It’s great to have some of New Zealand’s best young golfers back on the same golf course testing themselves against their peers after a couple of trying years. The field is at maximum capacity, highlighting the depth of young golfers in New Zealand. I’m looking forward to seeing how both the Age Groups and Secondary Schools events unfold over the next few days.”
LOCAL TEAMS COMPETING:
Boys
Macleans College – Samuel Ding, Daniel Ko, Stephen Liu
Saint Kentigern College – James Flay, Jax Loh, Jacob Qian
Girls
Macleans College – Cherry Lee, Lucia Lee, Sally Lee
Saint Kentigern College – Aileen Du, Emma Zheng
Boys 2
Macleans College 2 – Ivan Yun, Jack Zhang
Saint Kentigern College 2 – Alan Chen, Benji Hao, Daniel Qin
