Ben Patston finishes 2024 on a high, claiming his second Otago Order of Merit title.

It has been 6 years since Patstons first win in 2018, but he now adds his name to a prestigious list of players to have won the Vardon Trophy multiple times.

It was a late charge that sealed it for Patston, however, a few good results early set the tone for his successful year. A runner-up finish for the Otago players in the Canterbury Stroke play set up a good start to the season for Patston. The following week at the Taieri Lakes Classic, Patston secured 4th place. The Dunedin Strokeplay was next on the list, 36 holes over two days at St Clair Golf Club. Patston and fellow Otago Golf Club member, Callum Judkins, led the way with first-round scores of 70, 1 under. A 1 over par round of 72 for Patston in the final round secured the win for him over St Clair’s Jacob Bellamy by 1 shot.

The Chisholm Links Open was the first tournament back after the pennant season. Brutal conditions proved a strong test for the field, however, Patston was able to come up with the goods shooting a two-round total of 150 to come in a tie for second place. The back-to-back Lakes District and Moore Open is a difficult test mentally and physically as golfers compete for 72 holes over one weekend. An eagle-birdie-birdie finish for Patston at the Lakes District Championship capped off a 68, the lowest round of the day, and securing him another runner-up finish, 1 shot off the winner Phil Bungard. Following on from his runner-up finish at Arrowtown, Patston shot rounds of 73 and 72 at Cromwell to secure another runner-up finish to Ricky Kang by 1 shot. The successful weekend in Central proved vital for Patston as he jumped to the top of the leaderboard with only one tournament left to play, the Otago Matchplay. However, with Phil Bungard, Parker Aluesi, and Will McLauchlan all failing to make it past the first round of matchplay, the title was secured in Patstons name.

Ben was also selected for the Otago Men’s team this year where he won 4 from 4 games at the South Island Interprovincial and 1 from 2 games at the New Zealand Interprovincial.