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Hodge makes TransTasman team

Tyler Hodge has been selected as one of four juniors to compete alongside the senior men, senior women and junior women in the Trans-Tasman Trophy against Australia which will be played at Peninsula Golf Club in Melbourne in early March.

Each team competes for its own trophy, with the juniors playing for the Clare Higson trophy. An overall Trans-Tasman trophy for the combined result is awarded and when last played in 2010 at Royal Wellington, Australia thumped the NZ team, winning all but the Junior Women's event where Lydia Ko and Cecilia Cho were debuting.

Hodge finished 2011 ranked 15th in the country after a bunch of top 5 finishes in the late season Charles Tour events and a runner-up finish at the NZ Under 19 Championship. With experience at international play having self funded trips to Australia in previous years on top of previously representing the country in Scotland at the Junior British Open, this experience should hold him in good stead against the best Australasia has to offer.

The Women’s and Junior Girls team is to be managed by Libby Steele.

The Women’s team is: Chantelle Cassidy, Emily Perry, Lydia Ko and Sarah Bradley.

The Junior Girls Team is: Catherine Bell, Julianne Alvarez, Laura Hoskin and Wenyung Keh.

The Men’s and Junior Boys team is to be managed by Brent Paterson.

The Men’s team is: Ben Campbell, Blair Riordan, Mathew Perry and Vaughan McCall.

The Junior Boys Team is: Compton Pikari, Ryan Chisnall, Sam An and Tyler Hodge.

Manawatu Wanganui Matchplay reinstated

After many years of our matchplay trophies gathering dust, the polishing cloths are out due to the reintroduction of the Manawatu Wanganui Matchplay Championship.

Formerly known as the Kubota Cup, the 2012 version will crown our senior men's, senior women's and junior men's matchplay champion.

Qualification for the 16 man senior men's event will be through Toro Interprovincial selection (6) and the next 10 best players from the open order of merit. The junior men's field of 8 will come directly from the junior order of merit and the women's criteria is yet to be confirmed.

The venue for the 2012 event is confirmed as Wanganui Golf Club and will be played over November 17-18; the senior men will compete over 4 rounds of matchplay and the women and junior's over 3 rounds.

>MWG Matchplay - Qualification Criteria and Rules

Hodge leads under 19 charge

12 months ago a birdie on the last hole propelled Tyler Hodge into a playoff for the North Island Under 19 Championship which he eventually lost to Sam An.

As part of a 20 strong contingent from Manawatu Wanganui, this year Hodge will be aiming to go one place higher and add his third North Island title to an ever growing trophy cabinet. Victory here in both the Under 15 and 17 catergories in previous years will have him as the hot favourite for the 2012 title. Snapping close on his heels will be fellow Interprovincial team mate Trent Munn. Full of confidence after a great finish to the 2011 season, Munn won the Under 17 title here in 2010 and will look to make up for a mid field finish last year. Others to keep your eyes on are senior representative players Rhys Harold and Jack Leenards. Harold already has a national Under 13 title to his name and would dearly love to pick up the Under 15 title here. In the Under 13 category Greg Shaw may just be the surprise of the tournament. Numerous low rounds in the 70's in recent weeks have him in hot form and should he transfer this to the Hamilton Golf Club layout then anything could happen.

Perhaps the biggest achiever of 2011, Emma Clayton, will be looking for a trifecta of wins after missing this event last year and then going on to win the South Island and NZ Under 15 titles. A multiple winner in senior events also throughout 2011, her handicap of 0.9 reflects the many hours of practice and dedication which has seen this impressive success so early in her career. Brydie Hodge, Keita Durie and Amber Rose Thompson Newth should also be near the top of the leaderboard as they continue their fine play of 2011 which saw them represent the district at senior level all season.

Good luck to all those participating. The event starts on Wednesday January 18th - link to event details here

Chamberlain Shield - Manawatu wins

The Chamberlain Shield was played at Pahiatua Golf Club on Sunday November 20th. The shield was donated in 1950 by the first secretary of the Manawatu Wanganui District Golf Association, Mr K.G.Chamberlain. It was initially played for by the club champions of each club but was extended to a team event composed of senior, intermediate and junior champions in an aggregate medal format.

Results from the 2011 Chamberlain Shield

Women's Interprovincial side named

Players were given one last opportunity to shine infront of selectors Shirley Bartlett and Margaret Stephens when the side played Taraanki at a water logged Stratford Golf Club on the weekend. Having won the prestigious Sybil Green trophy at the same venue a month earlier the team were favourites to take out the 36  hole reverse singles match even though Taranaki had home course advantage. A mix up in the morning created by Taranaki players arriving late required a reshuffle of the tee times which shook the team and resulted in a 3-5-4.5 first round loss. The fighting spirit seen all year shone through in round two though as the result was turned around for a 5-3 win and a 8.5-7.5 victory for the day. At the conclusion of the day the team to compete at the Interprovincial in Whakatane was announced. The team in playing order is Stephanie McKillop, Kelly Nicholas, Emma Clayton, Keita Durie, Brydie Hodge and reserve Karen Mannenin.

Amber Rose wins both Wanganui and Castlecliff Club Championships

District representative Amber Rose Thompson Newth recently created a little bit of histroy in winning both Castlecliff's and Wanganui's Club Championship. Click here to read the Wanganui Chronicle story.

Munn and Clayton up for Sports Awards

2011 has been a big year for Manawatu Golf Club's Josh Munn and Emma Clayton which nows sees them nominated for Manawatu Sportsperson and Junior Sportsperson of the year respectively.

Munn's nomination is on the back of his recent NZ debut at the Asian Amateur after an amazing start to the year with wins at the Hastings Open, LawnMaster Classic, semifinals of th e NZ Amateur and most impressively his pillar to post win at the Charles Tour's Muriwai Open in May. He currently sits 7th on the NZ Golf OOM.

Clayton has come on in leaps and bounds since the 2010 season, improving her strokeplay average by 6 shots per round which has enabled her to dominate the national under 15 scene with victories at the South Island Under 15's, NZ Under 15's and the Eagles Junior Nationals (Under 17). You can also add two open field wins at the Challenge Cup and Manawatu Open plus top 10 finishes in major four round events against NZ's top female golfers. She sits 22nd on the NZ Golf OOM.

Manawatu Wanganui Golf wish Josh and Emma all the best for the awards night

> Manawatu Standard Story

Selection battle heats up

Two found, four more to go. Following the season ending Wanganui Open, the top two players on the district Order of Merit earned automatic positions into November’s Interprovincial Championship in Gisborne. Heading into last weekend’s final event, the Wanganui Open, Tyler Hodge had an unassailable lead and had secured the first automatic selection, but with second placed Josh Munn deciding to join Hodge at the Charles Tour’s Shirley Open instead of Wanganui, the door was wide open for others to overtake him and secure the second spot.  Marton’s Lachie McDonald who recorded a 6thplace finish at Wanganui was the eventual recipient of the automatic selection.

With two of the team confirmed the remaining players have one last chance to stake their claim for the final four positions whilst competing at this weekend’s Central North Island Quadrangular against Bay of Plenty, Eastland and Taranaki. Josh Munn looks assured of selection having recently represented New Zealand and sitting 7th on the NZ Rankings. The remainder of this weekend side (Hayden Ring, Rhys Watkins, Trent Munn, Rhys Harold, Jack Leenards) and Malcolm Wells and Stu Smith who are away playing the Freyberg Masters Interprovincial are the obvious candidates for the last three spots.

Hayden Ring looks to have the inside running after an unbeaten run at the recent Shand Cup, two event victories throughout the season and 6th overall on the Order of Merit. Rhys Watkins did his chances no harm by winning the recent Challenge Cup and placing third at the Wanganui Open. Two final hole losses at the Shand Cup may give the selectors something to think about though. Wells has performed well in recent months but missed the Wanganui Open for an Australian event and will miss this weekend along with Stu Smith as they compete in the over 40’s Freyberg Masters. Having limited representative play in recent years, he recorded one win out of three at the Shand Cup and may have given others a chance to shine in front of selectors Russell McDonald and Geoff Ross. Trent Munn may well be the bolter again. After a season marred with injury and sickness he seems to be hitting form at the right time with a second place finish in his defence of the Wanganui Open and three from three at the Shand Cup.

Central North Island Quadrangular Team – in playing order.

Josh Munn (Manawatu), Tyler Hodge (Levin), Lachie McDonald (Marton), Hayden Ring (Castlecliff), Rhys Watkins (Manawatu), Trent Munn (Manawatu), Rhys Harold (Palmerston North) and Jack Leenards (Manawatu).

Junior Interprovincial - Daily Blog

Junior Interprovincial - Daily Blog

Friday

With a mathmatical chance of winning the team were keen to fire early but the effects of 8 days on the road and 12 consecutive rounds took there toll as the boys struggled to get moving fom the word go. A valiant effort saw the them 4-4 with five holes to go but the wind went out of the sails and we faded to a 2.5-5.5 loss and 3rd place overall. Many thanks go to Roger whio has been with the side for the 8 days  the motivational words "No Bleeding" will ring in my ears for a long time. Alex Whiley was the player of the event for the team with 6 out of 7 wins on debut. Jeff Handcock will be heading to the navy next year as he finishes school and moves into the senior golf ranks. We wish Jeff all the best and hope it all goes well.  For the final results click here

Thursday

Tenpin last night became a battle of the fastest bowler and the best. Trent and Alex were going head to head for fastest and with his last bowl Trent took it out with 35.67km/hr! Tyler won the scoring narrowly from Jack and Rhys while Roger took out the manager battle.

The morning round saw a bigger comeback than yesterday afternoon. The team were 6-2 down with 5 holes to go but rallied to win 5-3 to remain unbeaten after 5 rounds. The weather was bad all morning and continued into the afternoon round where we had our first loss for the week going down 3-5 to Waikato. Alex Whiley remains unbeaten at #7 which is a great result so far in his debut year.

Waikato now lead with one loss and we are in 2nd alongside Auckland. To win we now need Nth HArbour to roll Waikato and for us to beat BOP - go Nth Harbour!

With the boys extremely tired after 7 days straight golf it was a quiet night and early to sleep.

Wednesday

The boys looked like zombies this morning but thankfully we were playing Eastland and got away with a 7-1 win after a very slow start. A bit more enegy would be required as we head into the last 4 rounds against the top ranked teams.

Another slow start against the inform Auckland was not what we were looking for and with 5 holes to go we needed a prayer answered if we were to avoid our first loss. Step up KAylin Huwyler who won his 16th and 17th holes to go 1 up. A half in pars down the last meant a drawn match 4-4 and the lead after 4 rounds. The boys were understandably pumped and are now biting at the bit to take on Waikato and North Harbour tomorrow.

Laser tag and ten pin is on the cards tonight - game on lads

Tuesday

Round One versus Hawkes Bay had been talked up by the opposition for weeks who felt they could roll us this year - hard luck! A 6-2 victory put paid to their attempt and set us up with the perfect start for the week. Full results and live scoring are available online at www.waikatogolf.co.nz.

Round Two was against Northland who are always tough to beat. Infront all the way, our players seemed to slow down on the back nine and with one hole to go we could still have lost the match but Jack, Trent and Alex all prevailed on the final hole to secure victory 5.5-2.5.

It was then back to the dorms for rugby kicking, basketball, indoor cricket, table tennis and general teenage noise as Jack and Trent had brought up a playstation, t.v and sound system - poor old Roger trying to read his paper had no chance.

At 10pm the energy ran out and all went to sleep in the blink of an eye. Looking forward to Round 3 and 4 and another dry day hopefully.

Sunday/Monday

After the Shand Cup weekend the team bus swung by Hamilton airport to pick up Michael and Stephen who had met up with Rhys Harold in Auckland on his return from Australia. In a twist of fate Rhys was heading all the way home to Plamerston North and returning to Cambridge by road on Monday morning. KFC for tea then we settled into the dorms and the boys headed straight out to the rugby field to kick the ball around - no Dan Carter injuries please lads! The common room filled up for the All Blacks match and the cheer was loud as Aaron Cruden got onto the field. Early to bed which was a nice change from previous years.

A smelly dorm room greated us this morning - I forgot how a group of boys can make a mess and smell so quickly. As we arrived a day early, a cooked breakfast was taken at a cafe in town which is a treat for the boys compared to the normal cereal. The weather is looking like rain so hopefully we will get back dry which will make it much easier to get ready for theofficial opening ceremony, photos and dinner tonight.

Shand Cup

Round One has left the team on the back foot after a 4.5-5.5 loss to hosts Taranaki. The Juniors also went down by 1-3. A strong fight back against Hawkes Bay this afternoon will be required which may set up a winner takes all last round against Wellington depending in their match with Taranaki.

Round Two delivered a polished performance by the team winning 9-1 over the Hawkes Bay seniors and 2.5-1.5 over the juniors. This now sets up an interesting final days play where either Taranaki, Wellington or ourselves can win the event.

Round Three was good and bad with a halved match against Wellington (5-5) meaning the side could not win the Shand Cup but finished second behind Taranaki with Wellington 3rd and Hawkes Bay 4th. A win, half and narrow loss is encouraging for the CNIQ in 3 weeks time when we take on Taranaki, Bay of Plenty and Eastland.

Clayton and Munn best of the district on NZ Golf OOM

Emma Clayton jumped six spots from 28th to 22nd on the NZ Golf OOM following her 8th place finish at the Port Taranaki Open. It has been a big year for the Manawatu Golf Club member which will now sees her in the number two spot for the upcoming Sybil Green. Josh Munn remains the top ranked male in 5th where he has been for most of the year. He will look to improve this ranking at the Shirley Open at Christchurch Golf Club over Labour weekend. Close on his heels is Tyler Hodge who moved to 17th on the national rankings after a 3rd placing at Taranaki. They are joined by a large group of district golfers inside the top 100 which bodes well for the upcoming representative season.

Mens NZ Rankings: Josh Munn 5th, Tyler Hodge 17th, Lachie McDonald 32nd, Stu Smith 61st, Malcolm Wells 62nd, Trent Munn 64th and Hyden Ring 93rd.

Womens NZ Rankings: Emma Clayton 22nd, Brydie Hodge 34th, Stephanie McKillop 53rd, Kelly Nicholas 74th, Amber Thompson Newth 80th, Jill Hall 88th, Carol Leary 92nd.