Wakatipu Junior Golf Club’s outgoing coordinator’s ‘‘really stoked’’ with club member Yoonae Jeong winning the girls’ under-16 division of the New Zealand age-group championships in Pukekohe, near Auckland, last week.
Starting the last day seven shots behind the leader, Yoonae, 14, scored a four-under 69 to win her first national title by four strokes.
‘‘It’s good to see all of her hard work and perseverance and patience has paid off with a national title,’’ says Simon Boland, who’s leaving the club to become golf development manager for Southland Golf.
He believes Yoonae grew in confidence early this year after beating fellow club member Sumin Kang, who’s now 17, for the Canterbury strokeplay title.
‘‘She’ll take a lot out of [last week’s] win and hopefully she’ll get some bigger and better titles in years to come.’’
Yoonae was one of four club members to earn top-10 finishes at the age-groups.
Also ‘‘quite remarkable’’, Boland says, was Jan Ebbinge finishing tied for third in the U19 boys’ division, ‘‘which is a hugely-competitive field’’.
Josh Harris, 14, finished seventh in the U16 boys’ while Sumin ended up sixth in the U19 girls’ after a disappointing final round.
Sumin was recently named in a six-member NZ team for the Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific championship in Thailand in November.
Meanwhile, the Wakatipu Junior Golf Club’s being rebranded Futures Whakatipu.
The new coordinator’s Ben Guilford, head teaching pro at Arrowtown’s The Hills, who’s being contracted to Golf NZ.
