Eagles Under 17 champs - Cromwell

For the first time in its 43-year history an Otago player has won the annual Eagles National Under-17 Boys Championship.

And with a bit of luck an Otago teen might have won the girls champs for the first time since the current Otago Golf Club professional Shelley Duncan won the first girls’ championship in 1984.

The event, which is made up of 3-person mixed teams all representing 15 Eagles provinces, plus 12 invited Otago golfers was held over 54 holes in Cromwell played recently.

Conditions were cool with often blustery winds making low scoring difficult, though it was Cromwell’s more challenging greens that caught a few out.

After 36 holes on Tuesday the best of the boys was Auckland representative Oscar Guo with rounds of 78,71 by one from Futures Dunedin club member Connor Howes who scored 72, 78. Otago’s Ricky Kang was in third overnight with rounds of 76 and 75 while Canterbury’s Jonathan Fry was fourth with 79, 73.

However Howes turned up the heat on Wednesday morning with a solid 72 to take the title with a combined gross score of 222, while Guo, not helped by an Out of Bounds tee shot on the18th finished 5 shots back on 227.

Fry (77) had a slight edge on Kang (79) to reverse their placings in the final wash-up.

Keelan O’Neill from Northland had a 3 round nett score of 216 closely followed by Blake Novak from Waikato and Jayme Bremner from Manawatu/Wanganui, both on 217.

While the boys had a clear winner the girls championship went down to the wire and was decided on the 54th hole.

After 36 holes on Tuesday Auckland’s Cherry Lee (73, 76) and Otago’s Yoonae Jeong (76, 73) from the Millbrook Club were tied and a tight tussle ensued in round 3. Lee was one better by the 53rd hole.

Jeong had an opportunity to force a playoff on the 18th but her 3-4m birdie putt slid just past the hole, while Lee chipped close from off the green and sunk her par putt. Lee’s 3 round total was 222 and Jeong’s 223.

Canterbury’s Junie Chang completed the 3 rounds in 226 as did Elise Barber from Wellington, a great effort for the young 12-year-old who played on a scratch handicap at Cromwell.

In the Girls’ nett competition Southland’s Xanthia Piggott found the conditions to her liking with scores of 66, 63 and 70 (199), followed by Josie Keast from Poverty Bay on 207 and Niamh McGillicuddy, Hawkes Bay on 212.

The teams’ event was won by the Southland trio of Xanthia Piggott, Will Carson and Cooper Boyce with a combined 54 hole stableford score of 328.

Among the invited players Toby Gallie a member of the Future’s Wakatipu club had a 54 hole gross total of 225 (77, 74, 74), six shots clear of Chisholm Links’ Kairangi Koni on 231.

Results of Eagles National Under 17 tournament

Girls 54 Holes

Best Gross: Cherry Lee 222 (73, 76, 73) Runner up: Yoonae Jeong 223 (76, 73,74)

Best nett: Xanthia Piggott 199 (nett 66, 63, 70) Runner up Nett: Josie Keast (nett 72, 64, 71)

Best Stableford: Niamh McGillicuddy 112 Runner Up Stableford: Junie Chang 101

18 holes: Tues Am: Ava Rose Mimmack 35 cb Emilee Venables Zhou

Tues Pm: Mary Yim 33 on cb Elise Barber Wed Am: Amelia Storey 35 on cb 3 others

Boys 54 holes

Best gross : Connor Howes 222 – 72,78, 72 Runner up Gross: Oscar Guo 227 - 78, 71, 78

Best Nett: Keelan O’Neill 216 – Nett 73,72, 71 Runner -up : Blake Novak 217 Nett 73,70, 74

Best stableford : Watene Brown 109 – 39, 38, 32 Runner up stableford : Jayme Bremner 107

3rd Stableford: Divan Denton 105

4th stableford : Michael Hoyle 103

5th Stableford: Cooper Boyce 103

6th stableford: Flynn ter Beek 102

Team winners: Southland Xanthia Piggott, Will Carson and Cooper Boyce 328

Boys 18 holes

Tues AM: Ned Butler 36 R/UP Hugo Sidford 35

Tues PM: Jonathan Fry 37 R/UP Chrisjan Senegal 37

Wed Am: George Pogson 36 R/UP Tawa Thomsa 35

Invited Otago Players 54 Holes

Boys Best Gross: Toby Gallie 225 – 77 74 74

Best Nett : Toby Allan nett 214

Best Stableford Boy or girl: Kairangi Koni 102

Girls Best Gross: Sophia Park 240 - 80, 82, 78

Girls Best Nett : Anahera Koni 231 Nett 78, 74, 79

18 holes Boys and Girls Tues am: Josh Harris 31 on cb Albie Reed, Carter Muldrew

Tues pm: Carter Muldrew 39, Wed AM: Riley Gill 37

Team: Kairangi Koni, Sophia Park, Toby Allan 320