KEY POINTS:
Nineteen-year-old Dana Kim wrote her name into New Zealand golf's record books in style at Paraparaumu Beach yesterday, sinking an eagle putt to add the national matchplay title to the strokeplay crown she won five days ago at Waikanae.
In a day for the teenagers, 18-year-old Thomas Spearman-Burn
won the men's title, beating Tauranga's Kevin Smith 4 and 2, to give Wellington players all three major men's championships.
Kim had some stunning moments in her 7 and 5 victory over Whakatane 16-year-old Zoe Brake in their 36-hole final.
She had three eagles and was six under on the testing links course when the match finished. Perhaps the most spectacular eagle came on the 18th hole where she holed a snake of a putt from 15 metres to go to lunch six up.
Brake, also second in the strokeplay, fought back strongly but her short game let her down when she had chances to get back into contention.
"It's the best win of my career and I was really happy with my short game," said Kim.
"I sank some long putts and the links course really suits my game."
Kim, who took up the game only five years ago, plays at the Christchurch Golf Club and is the first woman from that club to win the matchplay since Susan Grigg in 1952.
She is also the first New Zealander since Brenda Ormsby in 1996, when they were held at different times of the year, to hold both the matchplay and strokeplay titles.
Ormsby also won both when they were staged together in 1980.
Spearman-Burn, from the Miramar Club, completed the treble for Wellington golfers after Sean Kells and Shaun Richards from Paraparaumu Beach won the foursomes and James Betts from the same club took the strokeplay.
Spearman-Burn only got into the championships as a reserve.
He started shakily and was two down after nine holes but coinciding with the arrival of his mother, Petra, his game picked up and Smith began to falter.
They shared the 18th spectacularly with eagles but by then Spearman-Burn was three up and Smith never got closer than two behind.
Spearman-Burn was congratulated by twin brother Peter, who is two minutes older and a member of the New Zealand junior team to play Australia tomorrow and Friday at Royal Wellington.
The new champion earns entry into the 2008 New Zealand Open. His brother, who topped the Monday qualifiers last year, quipped that he'd have to repeat the effort so the twins could both play the top event.
The innovation of playing the men's and women's championships together was generally successful, though the absence of the Australians was a disappointment.
Next year the championships will be at Titirangi and Remuera with an altered format that will have the men and the women playing both courses.
