The Bay of Plenty Open, doubling as the North Island Stroke Play Championship at Whakatane Golf Club, proved a true test of patience and resilience, with brutally tough conditions challenging players across all four rounds.

In the women’s championship, Golf New Zealand Development Squad player Teresa Wang produced a commanding wire-to-wire performance to claim the title. Fresh off her victory at the New Zealand Under 16 Age Group Championship, Wang showed composure beyond her years, handling the gusting winds and conditions better than anyone in the field. Remarkably, she was the only player to break par for the week.

“It feels pretty good,” Wang said after the win. “I think I played okay despite the weather, because it was pretty windy. The course is pretty long for me, and when the wind picks up it gets even longer and really hard. Last week when I played in Wellington it was similar conditions, so it really helped me prepare my game for this tournament.” View the full women’s leaderboard here.

Her next challenge comes across the Tasman later this month: “I’ll be playing the Jack Newton International in Australia, I’m really excited and looking forward to that.”

The men’s championship provided drama right to the end. Golf New Zealand Academy member Mitchell Kale mounted a stunning comeback, overturning a seven-shot deficit heading into Sunday. Kale carded rounds of 68 and 69 across the final 36 holes to set the clubhouse lead. Glenn Solomann was right there with Kale, but a bogey at 16 left the door ajar. In a big moment, he responded in style by chipping in for birdie on the last to force a playoff.

The playoff saw both players match pars on the first extra hole before Kale delivered the decisive blow on the second, holing a clutch birdie putt from the back of the green to secure back-to-back Bay of Plenty Opens and, with it, his first North Island Stroke Play crown.

“Yeah, it’s pretty cool,” Kale reflected. “I had a bit of time off with injury, this is my fourth tournament back, so it was good to feel under the gun again. I didn’t really have my best stuff at all, so it was good to get the win.”