Rotorua 10-year-old beats men at golf tournament

Jayden Elmiger (10) won the Rotorua Men's Junior Stroke Play golf tournament last weekend. Photo / Stephen Parker

Jayden Elmiger has shown composure and ability far beyond his years to win the Rotorua Men's Junior Stroke Play golf tournament.

What makes the achievement remarkable is that players are put in the junior division based on handicap, not age. The St Mary's Catholic School student was playing against grown men, many with decades of golfing experience.

The tournament comprised four rounds of golf, played over four weekends. Jayden scored 92, 92 and 100 to hold a two-shot lead going into the final round. The pressure to hold on to the lead would see many crumble, but the 10-year-old thrived under the pressure and scored 90 to claim victory.

"It felt really good. I felt kind of nervous [at the start of the final round].

"I just had to focus on what I was doing and concentrate on my own game," Jayden said.

During the final round, he had dropped one shot behind by the 13th hole, but managed to pull it back to birdie the 16th and par the 17th.

His mother Catherine Elmiger was impressed with how he handled the pressure.

"I was out there caddying for him with my dad, his grandfather, and it was just trying to get him focused really. We told him that he needed to do something because he was falling behind and with him, he seems to enjoy the pressure and pull off something incredible," she said.

Jayden has been playing golf since before he could walk.

"When he was still crawling he was given a plastic set of clubs so he could just crawl around and hit a ball. Then his dad used to take him out when he played, when he was 2, 3, 4. He's pretty much been playing 18 holes comfortably since he was 8.

"He's a very busy boy and there's just something about golf that puts him at peace a little bit, it seems to make him calm. He's lucky enough that his teacher is a Rotorua Golf Club member and understands and he is able to go to school Monday to Thursday and play golf Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

"Jayden is one of those extreme kids that this is his whole life and it has always been his whole life. They understand the learning that he has out here and that it's super beneficial.

"He's playing with a lot of adults and it's been quite good. They're great with him, they are super supportive. They've taken him under their wing and they're happy to take him under their wing," she said.

Jayden's dream was to be a professional golfer and his favourite player was Dustin Johnson. He would like to see more people his age playing golf.

"I just need to do lots and lots of practice," he said.