A promising 13-year-old Queenstown golfer has just played his first overseas tournament since Covid robbed him of international opportunities over the past two years.
Josh Harris (above) teed up at the 15th annual Future Champions Golf tournament at the Twin Oaks course in San Diego, California, in the United States, tying for 42nd out of 70 plus golfers in the boys’ 13- to 14-year-old division.
Struggling with heat and timezone changes, the Wakatipu Junior Golf Club (WJGC) member carded an 82 in the first round before registering an even-par 72 in his second round.
The Wakatipu High Year 9 student’s won several titles and captained a Kiwi team to victory against Australia two years ago.
In 2009, when still only 10, he and Aussie cricketing legend Ricky Ponting won a par-3 amateur event at The Hills’ Farm course, and two years ago he scored a hole-in-one at the Arrowtown course.
WJGC coordinator Simon Boland says Josh isn’t very big for his age, ‘‘but certainly his work ethic makes up for what he lacks in a bit of size and power compared to some of the other kids’’.
