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AIMAN AMERUL MUNER/Stuff
Napier’s Zack Swanwick was crowned U-19 champ at the 2023 New Zealand Age Group Championship in Timaru.
Napier’s Zack Swanwick will be heading into college with two golf championships under his belt following the final day of the New Zealand Under 16 and Under 19 Championships in Timaru.
Swanwick, a defending champion and member of the Napier Golf Club, was crowned the U-19 boys champion on Friday alongside Grace Zhan of Maungakiekie Golf Club (U-19 girls), Sophie Yu of North Shore Golf Club (U-16 girls) and Ryan Xie of Remuera Golf Club (U-16 boys).
The 54-hole championships hosted by the Timaru Golf Club at Levels started with a practice day on Tuesday followed by the championship rounds.
Golf NZ media and content manager Jason Gulasekharam earlier said Swanwick was “not short of motivation” as this was his final championship before heading off to college.
With Friday’s win, Swanwick now holds both the 2023 New Zealand Age Group Championship and the 2023 Australian Boys Championship. He was also part of the Taradale High School team who won the New Zealand Secondary Schools title at the Pleasant Point Golf Club.
“It’d be awesome. It’s my last year playing in the Under 19s, and it would be awesome to take it out again. I’m excited to go beat the boys,” Swanwick had told Gulasekharam on Thursday.
AIMAN AMERUL MUNER/Stuff
Grace Zhan of Maungakiekie Golf Club won the U-19 girls category at 2023 New Zealand Age Group Championship.
U-19 girls category winner Grace Zhan’s play on Thursday was a highlight after striking a hole-in-one on the fourth hole.
Gulasekharam had said the U-16 girls champion Sophie Yu had “stormed into the Under 16 Girls lead” with a solid three under 70 on Thursday after Wednesday’s 76 to sit even par for the championship.
“She made 10 straight pars to start her day [on Thursday] before making birdies at two, three, five, and seven, with a bogey at six to sign for the best round of the day in her division,” he said.
AIMAN AMERUL MUNER/Stuff
Winner of the U-16 girls category Sophie Yu of North Shore Golf Club in action during the final round of the New Zealand Age Group Championship.
Yu told Gulasekharam she had played really well on Thursday was excited to try and win on Friday.
“It would mean a lot to win as this is such a prestigious event, but I still have a round to play and I’m going to try and not get too far ahead of myself.”
Before the final round on Friday, the U-16 boys champion Ryan Xie held a one-shot lead over the defending champion Cooper Moore.
Gulasekharam had expected the U-16 boys division game on Friday to be a “blockbuster showdown”.
AIMAN AMERUL MUNER/Stuff
Ryan Xie of Remuera Golf Club finished first in the U-16 boys category of the 2023 New Zealand Age Group Championship.
“I feel pretty good. I’ve played really nicely over the first two days and I hope I can repeat it tomorrow [Friday],” Xie had told Gulasekharam.
“I’ve been working on my game a lot, and it’s great to see some good results. It’d mean a lot to win tomorrow; I had a shot at it last year but didn’t pull through. Hopefully, I can do that tomorrow [Friday].”
The leading 20 boys and ties had made the cut in both divisions, while the top 10 and ties made the girl’s cut.
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