Courtney Manning representing ASU in USA

Congratulations to Institute of Golf player, Freshman Courtney Manning and sophomore Anna Carling led ASU, finishing ninth and tied for 21st place, respectively.  Manning collected the best finish of her young career, while Carling recorded her fourth top-25 finish of the season.

Manning shot a career-low 70 on the tournament’s opening day and followed that up with a 73 Monday, which matched her previous career-best round.  Manning was in third place after two rounds, but dropped six places after shooting a final-round 80 that gave her a career-low 223 for the entire tournament.

“I am very proud of this team for their performance against a tough field,” said ASU head coach M.J. Desbiens.  “Everyone has put forth the effort and their hard work showed on the scoreboard.  Obviously, I am really happy for Courtney (Manning) and the way she played.  We were very tough mentally all three days, and I think that is why we performed so well.”

Courtesy: ArkansasState                              WESTON, Fla. (3/1/11)

Dom shot 59! His incredible round included 12 birdies and no bogies. His 12 under par round was scored at Clarke’s Beach. Incredible score, and just after spending a week at igolf HQ, getting put back on track with coach Craig Dixon and Physio Brad Takai.

See a picture of his score card below.

Congratulations Dominic, from all of the players and coaches at the Institute of Golf.

Michael Hendry’s three-under 68 to lead the New Zealanders at the conclusion at the JBWere Masters at Victoria GC in Melbourne today, saw him take home around $30,000 nzd for his troubles.

Mike hitting off 12th hole in first round

Mike Hendry putting with Tiger Woods pre round 2

Institute of Golf professional Michael Hendry has won his first round PGA Tour qualifying tournament in Hawaii today.

The North Harbour player fired a final round four-under 68 at Turtle Bay Resort on Oahu. He finished on 14-under par 274 to be three shots clear of Australia’s Luke Hickmott and Argentina’s Alan Wagner.
The top 10 scores plus ties progress to the second stage qualifying in USA next month, with Hendry joining compatriot Danny Lee as the only kiwis to progress from the first stage.
Approximately 450 players will compete in second stage qualifying at six venues, including first stage graduates and other players exempt to the second stage.

Leading players from each venue will join other players exempt into the final stage qualifying, which will consist of 156 players competing over six rounds.
Hendry has continued his strong form this year which has seen him win on the lucrative OneAsia Tour, the Charles Tour and also the Fiji Open.

Leading scores, PGA Tour first stage qualifying, Turtle Bay Resort, par 72:
274 Michael Hendry (NZL) 69 69 68 68
277 Luke Hickmott (AUS) 74 67 67 69 , Alan Wagner (ARG) 72 68 70 67

Lydia @ igolf with Director of Physiotherapy Brad Takai

strokes. The 54 hole event was played at the North Shore Golf Course over the weekend in pretty average weather.

The players played 27 holes each day to battle out for the title. First round leader Hanee Song (72) had a 2 shot lead going into the last 9 of the first day over Ye Song Park (igolf). Lydia was sitting 4th with a +4 76 after a rough first round then was even after the first 9 of the 2nd round.

Lydia came out firing on Sunday shooting -4 for the last 9 of the 2nd round to finish even after 2 rounds and held a 1 shot lead going into the last 18.

Cecilia Cho was sitting 3rd at +2. Lydia then shot another -4 round of 68 to win by 5 shots over fellow NZ representitive Cho and 7 shots ahead of 1st round leader Song.

Institute of Golf member Courtney Manning finished 4th with a pair of 73′s to finish.

Great win by igolf’s talented Ko, who when the putter runs hot, will be unstopable.

More details when they come to hand.

54 Hole Classic – Championship – 13/06/10 – Round 3

Mike after holing his 6 footer for birdie on the 18th

Hendry claimed his third Charles Tour title, holding off a brilliant charge from Auckland professional Richard Lee, who equalled the course record with a six-under 66 to finish a shot behind Hendry.

Both players fly out for Asia with Hendry headed to the One Asia Tour event in Seoul and Lee for two tournaments in Japan.

And both produced golf of the highest quality in an enthralling day.

Hendry, starting the day with a three shot lead, had the field under seemingly control until a bogey at the 16^th and a Lee birdie reduced the margin to just one shot. Both players parred the 17^th hole before Lee nailed a 7m birdie putt on the 18^th to draw level with Hendry on 16-under par for the tournament.

Hendry was up to the challenge, bagging a solid 2.5m birdie to secure the win.

He finished on 17-under, a shot back to Lee with fellow Auckland professional Marcus Wheelhouse firing a four-under 68 today to finish third on 12-under, his best finish as a professional in this country.

Another Institute of Golf professional Brad Shilton enjoyed two rounds of five-under 67 at the weekend to jump up to fourth place on 11-under, one shot ahead of a bevy of players including professionals Dale Clarke (igolf), Mahal Pearce (Dunedin) and Grant Moorhead (New Plymouth) and leading amateurs Daniel Pearce (Hastings) and Scott Wightman (Mangawhai).

Hendry, who finished runner-up at the Tauranga Open after two Charles Tour wins last year, said he was confident over his winning putt.

“I was fairly comfortable with that putt on the last. As soon as Richard stood over his putt I knew he would hole it. He had been putting pressure on all day,” Hendry said.

“I kept saying to myself that I would need to get this to win and luckily I had that attitude or it might have been a different story.”

The 30 year old reckons his game has continued to improve to a stage where he can be competitive in top company.

”I am really happy with the way my game is developing. I am getting consistency which bodes well for the future especially if you want to make money in this game.

“Putting myself in positions to win quite a lot has taught me a lot and will hopefully stand me in good stead.

“I’d like to think it is just a matter of time now before I win a big one. I think I have matured a lot over the last few years and have a consistent game that can do well at the top level.”

Lee too has made big gains in both the Tauranga Open, where he scored that remarkable 59, and this week at Muriwai, a course he rates hugely.

“I would have liked to have won here because it’s such a good course,” Lee said. “I played really well today but just missed a few short putts that made the difference.

“It could have been one of those rounds where I went really deep but still I played well so I am more than happy. Mike is a really good player so good on him. This has given me some confidence now and I am playing well.”

Wheelhouse, a tour player for more than a decade, was thrilled with his effort considering he spends little time on his game as a teaching professional and a new father.

“Attitude is everything when you are playing golf. I’ve got the picket fence and family and someone to care for now so I have some real balance in my life which is great.

“I think as a pro I was always very hard on myself. Now through teaching others I have learned that it was not the way to go and I am calmer. This is fun and I enjoyed it.”

Pearce said he had a point to prove after being dropped from the Srixon Academy last week.

“That was disappointing. But I have been playing well in these last two events and was really happy with my play here. I just have to keep making the scores and hopefully I can get back into the academy,” Pearce said.

The Charles Tour resumes in the spring with the Youthtown Wairakei Open in September.

Leading scores, round 4, Muriwai GC, par 72:

271 Michael Hendry (igolf)67 68 68 68

272 Richard Lee (North Harbour) 68 67 71 66

276 Marcus Wheelhouse (Auckland) 68 70 70

277 Brad Shilton (igolf) 70 73 67 67

278 Dale Clarke (igolf) 68 68 70 72

New Zealand teenager Lydia Ko (igolf) has finished runner-up in the Australian Junior Masters golf tournament at Perth, Western Australia.

Institute of Golf’s Ko, 13, shot a final round two-under par 70 to finish on even par 288 for the tournament, two shots behind winner Thidapa Suwannapura from Thailand at The Vines course. Lydia‘s struggle with the greens over the first whole week lead her to miss to many putts, and made it hard to come back from some 1o shots behind with 2 rounds to play. This being her first event off NZ soil just shows Lydia can  play in any situation and compete with the best.

The event pits the top age group players from the Asia-Pacific region against the best from Australia, with both leading female players competing in the recent Queen Sirikit Cup in New Zealand.

Ko was the best of the New Zealand team at the tournament, with fellow-North Harbour player Faye-Amy Nickson finishing in a share of 20th.

Timaru’s Tm Leonard finished in a share of sixth place in the boys competition, shooting a one over 73 in the final round for a four-round total of four-over par, while Nelson’s Ryan Chisnall finished on 16 over in a share of 12th.

Meanwhile international Caroline Bon has missed the cut at the Taeyoung Cup Korean Open professional tournament in Seoul.

The national amateur strokeplay champion from Northland was 15-over par for 36 holes after rounds of 82 and 77.

She dropped five shots in her last three holes to dent an otherwise solid opening round and made three birdies in her 77 in round two of Korea’s flagship women’s professional tournament.

Australian Junior masters, The Vines, Perth, par 72:

Women:

286 Thidapa Suwannapura (THA) 67 68 76 75
288 Lydia Ko (NZ) 71 75 72 70

289 Annie Choi (Qld) 75 70 73 71, Su-Hyun Oh (Vic) 72 72 72 78

Also:

320 Faye-Amy Nickson (NZ) 79 81 84 76 (T20)

Men:

276 Ryan Peake (WA) 71 72 65 68
281 Jake Higginbottom (NSW) 68 70 70 73
284 Anthony Murdaca (SA) 72 73 73 66

Also

292 Tim Leonard (NZ) 72 72 75 73  (T6)
304 Ryan Chisnall (NZ) 76 73 74 81  (T12)

The first day of the competition saw us in fine weather with the temperature at 24 degrees and a moderate breeze pick up in the afternoon which was coming from the opposite direction from yesterday.

Institute of Golf’s Lydia Ko was the best of our players today with a 1 under 71 which places her in second place in the girls event which is 4 shots behind the leader. The good news is that she wasn’t happy with her round and said she left a few shots out there, especially with her putts.

I caddied for Faye and can attest to the fact that there are many bunkers on this course as it felt like I was forever raking bunkers. Faye managed to shoot 79 despite struggling a little off the tee and also finding the going a little tough on the greens.

Tim, par 72, played well and is playing with confidence but he also left a number of shots on the greens missing a few reasonably short putts.

Ryan, 76, was very frustrated as he managed to hit all 14 fairways and 15 greens in regulation, parring the first 13 holes, but slipped with 4 bogies in last 5 holes. He had 35 putts so also struggled on the greens.

So all in all a fair day although all the team are looking forward to having a fewer number of putts tomorrow.

We ended the day with some practice and then had the feet up recharging for tomorrow.

From NZ Golf’s acting team managers blog.

Lydia at Pegasus

They will be led by Institute of Golf‘s Lydia Ko in her first overseas tournament representing New Zealand, following her successful debut in the Tasman Cup and Queen Sirikit Cup. Ko turns 13 this week.

The remainder of the under-18 team is national under-15 champion Ryan Chisnall (Nelson), South Island under-19 champion Tim Leonard (Timaru) and Tasman Cup representative Chantelle Cassidy (Tokoroa).

They will take part in the Handa Junior Masters at The Vines Resort and Country Club in Perth on 11-14 May.

The annual tournament includes leading junior golfers from Japan, Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Taiwan, UAE, South Africa, Thailand, India, New Zealand and hosts Australia.

“The tournament, which New Zealand has competed in on a number of occasions, is a tremendous opportunity for these promising players to further develop and realize their playing potential by competing against international competition on one of Australia’s leading courses,” said Simon Poll, New Zealand Golf High Performance Manager.

The invitation has been sponsored by golf philanthropist Dr Haruhisa Handa, who sponsors a number of golf tournaments on both sides of the Tasman including the Australian Open, and the recent Handa New Zealand Senior Masters at Millbrook.

Hosts New Zealand will take a two shot lead going into the final round of the Queen Sirikit Cup Asia Pacific golf championship in Hamilton tomorrow.

After team captain Zoe Brake (igolf) led the way in the first round on Wednesday, the young superstars Cecilia Cho and Lydia Ko (igolf) stepped up in the second round today at Hamilton Golf Club.

Lydia Ko puts the foot down at the Queen Sirikit for NZ

New Zealand fired a second successive three-under 141 to move to six-under par 282 after two rounds in the 32^nd Queen Sirikit Cup. The tournament involves 12 nations competing in the Asia Pacific teams’ championship over a 54-hole strokeplay competition with the two best of three scores counting each round.

The kiwis have a two shot lead over powerhouses Korea who shot a two-under 142 today to move to four-under as they chase their sixth Queen Sirikit Cup victory in the last eight years.

New Zealand have won the tournament three times, with the last occasion in 1999 when they last hosted the event at Paraparaumu Beach.

Australia moved to third place on two-under after a three-under 141, the joint best round with the kiwis.

Thailand are in fourth place on even par after a two-over 146 today, four shots ahead of the improving China, who fired a two-under 142 in the second round.

Japan and Chinese Taipei both shot two-over 146 to be on seven-over and nine-over respectively and will need super hot scoring tomorrow to figure in the calculations.

The 12 year old Ko led the way for New Zealand with her two-under 70 including a double bogey on the 17^th that would have otherwise seen the kiwis with a bigger buffer.

With yesterday’s star Brake struggling with an eight-over 80, it was 15-year-old Cho who answered the call. The Australian strokeplay champion was three-over through nine holes, before reeling off four birdies on the back nine to put the kiwis back on top of the leaderboard.

“We had a very rough start to the round and after nine holes we were not looking very good at all,” New Zealand team captain Libby Steele said. “But Lydia and Cecilia hung tough. Cecilia went on fire and Lydia rocked along even with an unfortunate double on the 17^th.

“Cecilia produced one of the gutsiest efforts I have seen. She was three-over through nine and the four birdies came from some great putts on the way home.”

Steele said the big crowds provided great support for the kiwis today.

“The support has been fantastic. We really need it tomorrow and sure it will be a great help to the girls seeing we are in that final group. We also have a fantastic team spirit and get along really well. They are very relaxed and we are having fun.”

Korea’s Hyo Joo Kim grabbed the lead in the individual honours after the low-round three under 69 to be on three-under, two shots ahead of Cho and Thailand’s Yupaporn Kawinpakorn.

Scores, round 2, Hamilton GC, par 72 (* designates non counting):

282 New Zealand 141 141 (Zoe Brake 69 80*, Cecilia Cho 72 71, Lydia Ko 76* 70)

284 Korea 142 142

286 Australia 145 141

288 Thailand 142 146

292 China 150 142

295 Japan 149 146

297 Chinese Taipei 151 146

298 Philippines 152 146

303 Hong Kong 153 150

307 Singapore 147 160

311 India 159 152

313 Malaysia 160 153

Leading scores:

141 Hyo Joo Kim (Korea) 72 69

143 Cecilia Cho (New Zealand) 72 71, Yupaporn Kawinpakorn (Thailand) 70 73

144 Ji Hee Kim (Korea) 71 73, Justine Lee (Australia) 73 71, Eri Joma (Japan) 73 71

145 Ebony Heard (Australia) 72 73, Stacey Keating (Australia) 75 70, Lou Ying (China) 76 69

146 Lydia Ko (NZL) 76 70, Jung Eun Han (Korea) 71 75, Jaruporn Na Ayutthaya (Thailand) 72 74

Also

149 Zoe Brake (New Zealand) 69 80