Laura Hoskin (Arrowtown) led from the start to the finish in the women's section with scores of 72, 75, 75 on the par-73 course. She finished six shots ahead of Jesse Hamilton (Maungakiekie) and Manaia's Holly Winter was third, one shot back.
Inia Logan (Cromwell) won the boys' under-15 title by five shots from Russley junior Tom Park. Logan went into the final round in front but dropped four shots on the front nine of the final round. He finished 7-over, on 79, for his worst round of the week.
Meanwhile, the Otago teams had their worst placings for many years. The under-19 team of Jamie Anstiss, Dong Young Kim, Conor Jamison, Sungwoo Han and Edward Cochrane finished fourth. Canterbury won again. Jamison was the standout, finishing on 221, to be sixth in the large field. Hopes were high in the under-17 event after Otago won the under-16 event last year. But, once again, Canterbury took the honours, while Otago finished third, 15 shots behind Tasman.
World No 2 Rory McIlroy, back at the scene of his first PGA Tour win, fired a five-under 67 at Quail Hollow yesterday for a seven-way share of the first-round lead in the Wells Fargo Championship in Charlotte, North Carolina, Reuters reports.
The Northern Irishman was joined atop the leaderboard by Americans Nick Watney, Ryan Moore, Robert Garrigus, Daniel Summerhays, Derek Ernst and Monday qualifier Nate Smith.
Another six players were one stroke back, including former Masters champions Phil Mickelson and Zach Johnson, and former US Open champion Lucas Glover, who won this event in 2011.
McIlroy, still looking for his first tournament victory this year, struggled early in the season to find his top form after switching his golf ball and clubs.
''I've made big strides,'' said McIlroy, who will turn 24 today. ''My game wasn't where it should have been at all in the beginning of the year. Now I feel like I'm swinging it well. I've seen my game progress week by week. It's a nice start here this week.''
McIlroy may have landed in the perfect place to get back on the winning track. He fired a spectacular final-round 62 to win the 2010 tournament for his first US tour win and last year went to a playoff won by Rickie Fowler.
