Sir Bob Charles was elected to the position of New Zealand Golf patron at the organisation’s latest annual meeting.
Sir Bob, always the consummate professional, has been a significant part of the golfing landscape in this country and New Zealand Golf said it was with great honour that it announced Sir Bob’s acceptance of this distinguished role.
Jim Cusdin finished well back in the latest New Zealand Open.
Next year the hopes for the Bay of Plenty professional golfer will be higher for a few reasons.
Two new names were added to the Charles Tour honours’ list with Peter Zwart and Amelia Garvey winning the men’s and women’s divisions of the Muriwai Open in Auckland.
Read MoreLydia Ko has broken and set many, many records. Most are for being the youngest for this, youngest for that, youngest, youngest, youngest, youngest.
But when it comes to her temperament on the golf course, her ease with the world news media and her dealings with the public she shows maturity way beyond her years.
Eighteen years, 11 months and nine days.
That was the age of Lydia Ko when she became the youngest woman to win two golf majors.
Ko achieved the amazing feat in the ANA Inspiration at the Mission Hills Country Club in California last month, a few days short of her 19th birthday on April 24.
It was a Waikato two for two at the New Zealand Strokeplay Championships in Christchurch.
Luke Toomey won the men’s division and Chantelle Cassidy won the women’s. Both are from Waikato and both were winning the titles for a second time.
Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy and Daniel Hillier.
It’s a long bow to draw to mention Hillier’s name in the same sentence as Spieth and McIlroy but that’s the case when it comes to the Australian Open in Sydney in November.
Hillier, from Wellington, gained a start in the Australian Open when he won the Australian Boys’ Amateur Championship for under 18-year-olds in Tasmania last month.
There were two new winners on New Zealand’s Charles Tour following the Akarana Open in Auckland.
They were Bay of Plenty professional Kieran Muir, who took out the men’s division of the Akarana Open, and Auckland amateur Brittney Dryland who won the women’s section.
Thinking of heading to the Gold Coast in Queensland for a winter golf trip?
Not sure where to play?
I can help. I was there in April and have been there many times beforehand.
First let me say that many venues that I did not play on my latest visit are often advertised in this magazine. I have played virtually all of the courses that are regularly advertised and all are very fines courses.
New Zealand Golf has a new chairman.
He is Murray Ward who had been a New Zealand Golf director for the previous six years. He replaces Paul Fyfe from Wellington who had been chairman for three years.
Read MoreIt was another of those damned Aussies again.
Australians constantly deny New Zealanders victory in numerous sporting events and this time it was Sharon Dawson from Perth who fended off the Kiwis.
Dawson won the New Zealand Women’s Senior Matchplay Championship at Te Anau in Southland in February to become the first Australian to win the tournament in it’s 68-year history.
Read MoreMichael Hendry became the most successful golfer on the Charles Tour when winning the Lawnmaster Classic in Palmerston North for the second year in a row.
The win was Hendry’s sixth on the Charles Tour, which is New Zealand’s top circuit for professionals and top amateurs. Doug Holloway had previously set the record with five wins.
Read MoreDanny Lee’s share of proceeds from last year’s Presidents’ Cup has gone to golf in New Zealand.
All players, the captain and the captain’s assistant from each team in the Presidents’ Cup are allocated a portion of the funds generated from the tournament which is required to be given to a charitable cause.
Read MoreA blemish-free final round carried Brad Kennedy to victory in the New Zealand PGA Championship in Auckland.
The Australian carded a five-under par 67 for his last 18 holes at the Remuera Golf Club to win by two shots from Josh Geary of New Zealand and another Australian, Nevan Basic.
Read MoreMatthew Griffin overcame the nerves on the last green to snatch victory in the New Zealand Open in Queenstown.
The Australian was one shot behind the leader Hideto Tanihara of Japan going to the last hole of The Hills course but it ended up being a two-shot swing as Griffin made birdie and Tanihara made bogey.
Read MoreIt was typical Lydia Ko.
It was typical that Ko won the New Zealand Women’s Open at Clearwater in Christchurch last month. It was her third win in the event in the last four years.
Auckland professional Liv Cheng has been awarded a New Zealand golf scholarship
for the second year in a row.
The scholarship is worth $12,000 and is funded by New Zealand Professional Women Golfers (NZPWG) from it’s annual Anita Boon Pro-Am tournament in Auckland. The tournament is sponsored by Kentucky Fried Chicken and Coca-Cola Amatil.
New Zealand professional Michael Long was almost apologetic after pulling off one of the greatest winning shots in the history of the Victoria Open.
It came on the first sudden-death playoff hole after Long and Matthew Millar had finished in a tie for the lead at 13-under par at the end of the four rounds of regulation play.
John Batley would have been excused if he was a bundle of nerves.
He had finished in a tie for the lead at the New Zealand Seniors’ Championship and was headed for a sudden-death playoff.
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