Golf: Jae An leads Rotorua to title

A superb three-under 67 from Jae An led Rotorua Boys High School to their fourth national secondary schools golf title yesterday.

The star-studded Rotorua line-up came from two shots behind after 18 holes to claim victory by a whopping 11 shots over Shirley Boys High of Christchurch to become the first school to win four national titles.

An, 15, led the way at Hutt Golf Club with a three-under 137 for 36 holes to take the honours as leading individual by eight shots from Ken Noh, of Shirley.

Auckland's St Kentigern College provided the morning surprise with a six-over 226 to lead after 18 holes in their first year in the finals.

Rotorua were two shots back on 228, one ahead of Shirley Boys, with Otago BHS on 231 and Marlborough BHS on 232.

Rotorua were in a class of their own in the final round, with An supreme. He followed his even-par 70 with a three-under 67 which included five birdies and two bogeys - both three-putt greens.

He finished in superb fashion with three birdies in a row. He had a five-metre putt on the 16th and outstanding approach shots for birdies on the 17th and 18th.

"I played awesome this afternoon," said An, who at 13 became the youngest player to qualify and make the cut in the New Zealand Open.

"We were worried a bit after the first round because all the guys struggled and there was not much gap covering most of the field," he said.

"But they all played well this afternoon. This is a tight course and you had to hit it straight, which we did in the final round.

"It is an honour to be in the team that has become the best school in New Zealand golf.

An's fellow Bay of Plenty representative, Terry Hong, improved from his morning 80 for a second-round four-over 74.

Luke Cassidy completed the counting scores with a solid 72 for Rotorua.

Shirley Boys pushed through from third place to runner-up on 223, led by a fine effort from Noh, who followed his morning 73 with two-over 72.

Morning leaders St Kentigern were again steady in the afternoon to finish equal third with Otago BHS, who were led by an even-par 70 from Mark Collie in the afternoon.

Rotorua and Shirley qualify for the Trans Tasman Challenge against the two leading Australian schools to be played next May in Victoria.

It was the final event under the present sponsorship arrangement with AMP, but it will remain as a key supporter of golf in New Zealand.

The company, which has backed the NZ Golf Foundation since its inception in 1989, will concentrate its sponsorship in support of the AMP Scholarship and other initiatives, including the Holden NZ Open.

New Zealand Golf, including the NZ Golf Foundation, is pursuing a strategy to assemble a family of sponsors to support the sport.