Click photo to enlarge
Duncan Croudis
In the wake of the New Zealand Open at The Hills last
week, the feast of top golf continues with the South Island
men's and women's championship at St Clair in Dunedin next
week.
The event, which starts next Thursday with one round each day
for four days, has attracted a strong amateur field with all
of the top men and women competing.
Click photo to enlarge
Brent McEwan
Of the 114 men and 30 women in the field, 60 men and 15
women have handicaps of scratch or better.
After the first two rounds, the field will be reduced to the
top 60 men and ties and the top 15 women and ties for the
weekend.
The event doubles as the Dunedin championship and will be the
second major event in the Otago order of merit series.
Leading contenders in the men's event are two pairs of
brothers - Peter and Thomas Spearman-Burn (Miramar) and Blair
and Sean Riordan (Takaka).
Vaughan McCall (Gore) is in form after his North Island
under-19 championship win, while Ben Campbell (Masterton),
Ryan Chisnall (Greenacres), Tim Leonard (Timaru) and Sir Bob
Charles Scholarship winner Duncan Croudis (Otago) are the
best of the youth brigade.
Otago No 1 Brent McEwan (St Clair) is playing at home and
will be keen to add this title to his Otago strokeplay win
last week.
Tony Giles (St Clair) and Bruce Grant (Queenstown) are two
former Otago No 1 players making a welcome return to the
competitive scene.
Former professional Catherine Knight (Ashburton) has regained
her amateur status and will be out to make her mark.
But she will face stern opposition from Zoe Brake
(Whakatane), Caroline Bon (Northland) and Emily Perry
(Lochiel), who were members of the national team a year ago.
Lisa Wright (Nelson) is a former national representative,
while Zumbee Ko (Harewood) is the low marker with a handicap
of -3.5.
Otago's hopes of producing a winner lie with Shani Arona
(Arrowtown) and St Hildas Collegiate pupil Laura Hoskin
(Arrowtown).
