Auckland teenager Phillis Meti has become the youngest woman to win the world long drive championships in Mesquite, Nevada.
Meti, 19, hit a drive of 326 yards (298.1m) in the final to beat her American opponent, Jackelyn Diekemper, by 40 yards (36.6m).
First-timer Meti consistently blitzed the fieldin golf's biggest grip-and-rip tournament to achieve her goal of shooting more than 300 yards (274.3m) throughout and claim the US$14,000 ($21,000) winner's purse.
She has played golf since she was 12 at Redwood Park in Swanson, where her father is a member. She plays off a 2-handicap and her powerful swing has proved an asset to the strong North Harbour women's interprovincial team.
Meti, a former Epsom Girls Grammar student, was an Auckland secondary schools young sportsperson of the year and national age-group shot put and discus champion.
In 2002, she represented New Zealand at the Australian Youth Olympics, finishing fourth in the shot and seventh in the discus.
She was third in both disciplines in the Oceania championships in Samoa and fourth in the shot and eighth in the discus at the Commonwealth youth championships in Bendigo, Australia.
As a netballer she played for College Rifles, the Auckland Diamonds development side and the Auckland Waitakere under-19 team.
Meti intends to focus on her golf and eventually turn professional.
