Brent McEwan in action in the Otago strokeplay championship
at Balmacewen at the weekend. McEwan shot a 24-under-par
total of 270 to defend his title. Photo by Craig Baxter.
Brent McEwan (St Clair) defended his Otago strokeplay
title with a 4-under-par total of 280 in fine conditions at
Balmacewen during the weekend.
He won by a single shot from course record holder Liam
Balneaves (Greenacres) after the pair were locked in a
head-to-head battle during the final round, where McEwan
scored par 71 and Balneaves a 72.
The senior championship looked set to be decided in a playoff
but McEwan edged ahead when Balneaves missed a sliding 2m
putt on the final green.
The win was a satisfying start to the year for McEwan, who
was pleased to stave off the Southland challenge and keep one
of the top trophies in Otago. Kyle Geary (Chisholm Park) made
no mistake in the senior B event, saving his best for the
final round of 68, giving him a resounding 15-stroke victory.
Trevor Bolt (Otago) led from the start to the finish in the
intermediate event and,despite a blowout in the final round,
took the honours by seven shots from Balclutha junior Mathew
Crawford.
Former Otago senior representative Mark Andrews (Taieri) shot
rounds of 79 and 71 to win the masters (over-40) title which
was decided over 36 holes.
Long-hitting Tyler McLean set the early pace in the senior
event with a 4-under 67 to be three shots ahead of Balneaves.
Queenstown junior Dong Young Kim made the best start of the
younger brigade, to lie in third place on 71, while
Balmacewen club stalwart John McIntee was one further shot
back.
McEwan was in a four-way tow for seventh with a 74, but he
made amends with a 5-under 66 to share the overnight lead
with Balneaves.
With a lacklustre 78, McLean slipped to third while another
Queenstown junior, Chadol Han, added a 68 to his opening
round of 78 to climb to fourth.
Both McEwan and Balneaves carded sub-par 69s yesterday
morning to be on 209 going into the final round.
They were seven shots ahead of Han and 10 shots ahead of
McLean, making it a two-way race over the final 18 holes.
Han finished third on 290 and Millbrook apprentice
greenkeeper Kayne Wardell followed his good performance in
last November's Taieri Classic with fourth place.
Others to feature in the event were Samson Kim (Queenstown)
who finished fifth and
Michael Smith (Otago) and Mitch Bosley (Wanaka), who finished
tied with McLean in sixth.
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