Jack Van Prehn and Eunseo Choi have come from behind to win the Bay of Plenty Open (BOP) Open played recently at Whakatane Golf Club.

Both trailed Nathan Clark and Faith Vui by a shot heading into the 36-hole final day, which presented ideal scoring conditions for the 57 players who made the cut.

Van Prehn came out of the gates quickly, taking advantage of the calm early morning conditions, making five birdies and a couple of bogeys to shoot a third round of 67 and lead by five heading into the afternoon’s final round. Choi carded a third round 77 after opening with 73 and 76 to remain a shot behind Vui and New Zealand Maori Golf champion Hunter Edwards at seven-over-par.

The final round became a battle against the conditions as the Whakatane winds picked up over the afternoon.

Van Prehn and overnight leader Clark, who is looking for his second victory in as many weeks, traded jabs over the opening nine, with the Cambridge Classic winner reducing the deficit to two with nine holes to play. Van Prehn made a critical birdie at 10 to increase his lead by five as Clark dropped a shot and managed his way back to the clubhouse to secure his maiden victory by two.

Van Prehn says he’s elated to get over the line.

“I started off quite nervy, but I knew I was chasing and had some ground to make up. Once I got the lead, it was just about staying there. 

“Nathan and I had the best battle out there I’ve had in my life. He put a lot of pressure on me, but it was good to experience. It feels pretty good to win. I’ve had a couple of close calls that I thought could’ve gone my way but didn’t, so it's great that it has finally happened.”

Van Prehn finished three over with rounds of 69, 72, 67, and 75. Clark finished second, with Isaac Steel and Trent Munn sharing third.

In the women’s event, New Zealand Espritio Santo Trophy winner Eunseo Choi prevailed by two after a final round of one over, finishing eight-over-par for the tournament.

She started poorly in her final round with a bogey at the first but hung tough for the remainder of her opening nine, going out in two over to match Vui in the lead with nine holes to go.

Vui took sole possession of the lead after a birdie at 12, but a costly bogey at 16 as Choi birdied, meant she fell a shot behind with two to play. They both birdied the 17th, and a par up the last was enough for Choi to seal a come-from-behind victory, which she’s pleased with following a rollercoaster final day.

“It was really chaotic; lots of up and downs and I really got to know myself on the course today. I tried to be more aggressive than conservative, which was hard as the wind was really strong for most of the day. It was tough for me to stay in the moment.

“I feel really honoured [to win]; I haven’t played any domestic events for a long time, and for this to be my first event and to get the win is awesome.  I grew up playing this event with others like Darae Chung and Fiona Xu, so to have watched them win and now I have done it, it's pretty cool.”

Vui finished second, while Rianne Li and Hunter Edwards shared third.