Eunseo Choi, Zack Swanwick, Carmen Lim and Stephen Liu have started 2022 as winners, all taking out their respective titles at the North Island Age Group Championships at the Taupo Golf Club today.

Starting things off in the Girls Under 16 Championship Eunseo Choi and Amy Im had a tense battle for 18 holes in difficult windy conditions today.  Starting the day 3 shots back Choi started solidly and took advantage of a nervous double bogey start by Im to close the gap.  A clutch bridie on 17 gave Choi some breathing space on 18 and a 3 putt bogey by Im on the last made the margin of victory more in the end than the close contest deserved.

Things were a lot easier for Zack Swanwick in the Under 17 Boys event.  Starting the day with a healthy lead, three birdies inside the first eleven holes saw him stretch his lead over the chasing pack.  With no one able to make a move, he finished off with an impressive six shot margin of victory finishing every round under par. 

The closest contest of the day saw the final pairing in the Girls Under 19 event saw Carmen Lim, Mimi Guo and Tara Raj each share the lead at various stages during the round.  Ultimately 3 birdies on the back and no bogeys was enough for Lim to secure a 1 shot victory over Guo, with Raj a shot further back sharing third place with Darae Chung. 

Stephen Liu stormed into contention during the second round of the North Island Under 19 Boys Championships with the round of the tournament shooting a five under 67 in the second round, which was the lowest score of the week.   That score put him into the lead starting round three and despite not having his best in the third round a 77 was good enough to keep him clear of the pack, winning by two shots over Aoki Shinju.

The North Island Age Group Championships will once again be held at the Taupo Golf Club in 2023.