Moore and Jeong shine at junior opens in Scotland
Moore and Jeong shine at junior opens in Scotland
By Neville Idour
Outstanding junior golfers Cooper Moore (Clearwater, Christchurch) and Yoonae Jeong (Wakatipu Junior Golf Club, Queenstown) have made their mark at their respective Royal and Ancient Junior Opens in Scotland. Moore showed his talents in a world class boys' field at Kilmarnoch Golf Club.
Cooper Moore . File Eagles presentation
A first round 71 left Moore tied second after being three over par after just six holes. He settled nicely for four birdies after that. Again he struggled in the second round being three over par after seven holes. He had the worst of the conditions in the morning with strong winds and rain coming in sideways through to the 11th hole. From there two birdies and two bogeys for 76 left him in eighth place. The afternoon players had much better conditions.
He resolved not to force it in an effort to climb the leaderboard in the final round. He stuck to his game plan and left his best for last with a flawless final round of 68 with four birdies. This put him in a tie for second with three other players, however with the best final round he finished second on a countback four shots behind winner Seonghyeong An (Korea).
Moore, who was over the moon after his effort and the bonus for his experience, said: “It is going to be great to enjoy watching the world’s best golfers do their thing at The Open at Royal Troon. It will be an eye opener for my future goals.”
Likewise for Yoonae Jeong it was a wonderful experience for her at the Royal and Ancient Junior Girls' Open at Barassie in Scotland. This was her first time away overseas at a world class event. She played consistent golf except for two significant blemishes. A first round 76 had her 17th after round one. An 80 in round two was ruined with an extraordinary 11 on the par 4 sixth hole. Like Moore she had to weather the worst of the conditions in the morning. Another 80 in the third round included a spoiler 8 on the par four 13th hole.
Even with those two rogue holes it was commendable that she recovered to finish tied 23rd in the world class field.