Ex-New Zealand international sets pace at senior women’s golf championship in Gisborne

Nikki Hume of the Winton course in Southland tees off the par-3 10th hole in the qualifying round of the New Zealand Senior Women's Championship on the Awapuni Links course on Monday. The 92-strong field battled blustery conditions.

Former international and two-time left-handed world champion Lisa Herbert led the field with partway through qualifying for the New Zealand Women’s Senior Championship in Gisborne today.

The wet-weather bullet was dodged but hats needed to be attached firmly to heads on day one of the four-day championship being held at the Awapuni Links course.

A 92-strong field of over-50-year-old golfers are competing. They have come from as afar as Perth, Australia, and the bottom of the South Island.

There are also 10 locals competing at the tournament, which started with 18 holes of qualifying today and is followed by matchplay in groups of 16.

Strong winds tested all players in qualifying on a course in supreme conditions, several players commenting on the superb standard of the Poverty Bay greens.

Herbert (nee Aldridge) represented her country 12 times, including the Espirito Santo world amateur teams’ championship.

She mixed three birdies with four bogeys in her 1-over-par 75 to be one stroke ahead of Heather Keefe (Rotorua), with Jenny Peters (Northland) a further shot back and three players carding a 4-over 78 - Jill Morgan (Cambridge), Robyn Pullar (Invercargill) and Diana Syer (Hastings).

The best of the Tairāwhiti players was Poverty Bay’s Megan Allen, who had four birdies in her 81, which had her sitting ninth overall with three-quarters of the field having finished.

Karen Hay (Electrinet Park) shot 86, Rochelle Taewa (Poverty Bay) 88, Jo Kerr (Waikohu) 93, Lynne Holmberg (Poverty Bay) 96, Carnie Nelson (Poverty Bay) 98 and Monique Francois (Poverty Bay) 99.

Organisers said there were only a couple of pullouts due to the weather.