NZ Mid -Amateur Winners
It was a super Sunday for Titirangi and Judgeford earlier this month with both clubs now boasting a NZ Mid-Amateur champion.
Titirangi’s new face to the Mid-Amateur annual chase is Hitomi Nishio who won the Women’s Golf Trust Shield by a four-shot margin.
With a dominant six-shot lead, Judgeford’s favourite green superintendent, Adam Church raised the Neil Woodbury Cup to be crowned the men’s champion.
Nishio and Church were in contention all week and led all weekend over the strong Kiwi field that was missing favourite contenders from around the Pacific including regular Australian and New Caledonian players.
The championship played over three days and 54 holes.
Shandon Golf Club played host to the event and the weather could not have been better for the opening round of the tournament on Friday 15 January.
Shandon local Ben Oliver posted the best score in the opening round with a 69 to be one-under par. Church was in the mix with an opening 71, as was fellow Judgeford member Brent Walton with Ken Meaden (Muriwai) posting a 70.
Best round over the weekend, men’s field was Church’s Saturday round of 67 which included birdies on the first, fourth, eighth, and 18th holes with his only blemish a bogey on the par 5, 15th. Church went into the final round with a one-shot lead over Meaden, who had a one-under par on Saturday.
However, it was a different day for the final round yesterday with gusty winds and rain greeting the back of the field. Church showed his class with a one-under par, 69, the only sub-par round of the day to secure the 2021 title.
Meaden finished second with a final round of 74, a total of 213 which was six back from Church’s three-under winning score of 207.
Matthew Cormack (Remuera) rounded off the podium in third on 214 (72, 70, 72), while Ben Patston (Otago) 215 (73, 69, 73) in fourth place. Fifth place went to Michael Trass (Boulcott’s Farm) on 216. Trass shot 72, 69 and 75.
Local Shandon members claimed the men’s best net, Sam Wilkinson, with winning stableford and runner-up places, Tavita Mene and Avinash Manu respectively. Runner-up in the net was Thomas Spearman-Burn (Mirimar).
The women’s field, complemented with district representatives from Invercargill to Northland, could not match the daily steady hand of Nishio. The Titirangi dynamo opened with a of round five-over 78 on Friday and then one-under in round two.
Her round of 72 on Saturday included birdies on the first, fourth, fifth, and three hole-birdie streak from the 13th to the 15th. Nishio made a few bogeys along the way but still managed to take a commanding lead that gave Nishio a four-shot lead going into her final round and a look at the winning shield.
A solid 75 in the final 18 holes and the Women’s Golf Trust Shield goes to Titirangi. 2018 winner Kellie Orchard (Royal Wellington) took on the chase with a final round of 75 but the overnight gap was too much to catch. Orchard picked up the silver medal with a total of 229 (79, 75, 75).
The only other women to shoot under par in any round was Sian Stevenson (Cambridge) who posted a 72 in her final pitch. Stevenson finished third overall on 233 (81, 80, 72). Still chasing the elusive Mid-Am title Vaha Fapiano (North Shore) 4th (79, 78 78) with a total of 235 and Jenny Peters (Northland) six shots back on 241 (85, 75, 81).
The women’s net winner was Harriet Dewes who shone well below her handicap with net rounds of 62, 68 and 71, second place awarded to Glenda Swan from Royal Wellington.
The consolation stableford prizes awarded to Shandon members Yuriko Manabe, the 2021 winner, with Judy Simpson as runner-up.
The tournament managed by PaR nz Golfing Holidays, under the auspices of Golf New Zealand, hope to announce shortly a Canterbury venue for the 2022 Championship. With return places for Church and Nishio as part of their winnings, who knows maybe Titirangi and Judgeford will be able to celebrate again next year. In the meantime, enjoy the current accolades being bestowed on your two champions.
