KEY POINTS:
New national amateur champion Dana Kim will need to refocus when the New Zealand team take on Australia in the second Trans Tasman Cup in Wellington starting today.
The 19-year-old from Christchurch is part of the 16-strong New Zealand team for the contest between junior and senior men's
and women's teams.
New Zealand won three of the four competitions last year but were beaten by a point for the Trans Tasman Cup in Canberra.
Kim, who won the New Zealand amateur championship on Tuesday, and runner-up Zoe Brake (Whakatane) joined the New Zealand team for a practice round at the Royal Wellington Golf Club in Heretaunga yesterday, ahead of the two-day transtasman match. "I really want to beat the Aussies," Kim said.
The Australians decided to bypass the New Zealand Amateur Championships to prepare for the Trans Tasman Cup.
"I can see what they've done," New Zealand Golf high performance manager David Graham said.
"The time was very tight between the Australian amateur [championships], the New Zealand amateur and the transtasman but in saying that we have some players, who while arguably are a little bit tired, are striking some very good form as a result of the competition.
"If we can keep that momentum rolling we have the advantage over [the Australian] players who have been 10 days out of competitive golf now."
Graham said the approach would be to focus on quality this week.
"Our objective is to win every match. To achieve this we have to play the golf course rather than the opponent, particularly in the foursomes where we have been concentrating on putting good combinations together."
Graham said the wet weather and local knowledge would be an advantage.
"Our players have been around the course quite a bit. It's a tough golf course and we think our knowledge of key parts of the course should help us.
"The wet weather is probably an advantage for us too because we are so used to playing soft greens and while that's often a challenge for us when we go overseas, in this case, I think our players will be a lot more comfortable."
The New Zealand camp will welcome back world No 6 ranked amateur Danny Lee, who has arrived home from Spain where he played for Asia Pacific against Europe in the Michael Bonallack Cup at the weekend.
"We have to be a little bit careful not to treat Danny like Superman. But it was his initiative that he wanted to come back and play for his country.
"Every time he tees it up he has very high expectations of himself so we won't be putting any more pressure on him than he already does himself."
The Australians have an experienced team headed by the outstanding Josh Younger and Australian No 1 Matt Griffin - second and third respectively in the Rice Planters Championship in the United States last year. The teams will contest foursomes in the morning and singles in the afternoon today and tomorrow.
TOP AMATEURS READY TO TEE OFF
AUSTRALIA
Senior men: Scott Arnold (NSW), Matt Griffin (Victoria), Jason Scrivener (WA), Josh Younger (Vic).
Junior men: Tim Hart (Qld), Bryden Macpherson (Victoria), Daniel Nisbet (Qld), Brendan Smith (NSW).
Senior women: Julia Boland (NSW), Clare Choi (Victoria), Stephanie Na (SA), Kristie Smith (WA).
Junior women: Whitney Hillier (WA), Samantha Holt (SA), Ashley Ona (NSW), Jessica Speechley (WA).
NEW ZEALAND
Senior men: Danny Lee (Bay of Plenty), Nick Gillespie (Hawkes Bay), Daniel Pearce (Canterbury), Jared Pender (Bay of Plenty).
Junior men: Peter Spearman-Burn (Wellington), Ben Campbell (Wellington), Landyn Edwards (Bay of Plenty) , Seve Ha (Auckland).
Senior women: Penny Smith (Bay of Plenty), Dana Kim (Canterbury), Larissa Eruera (Auckland), Caroline Bon (Northland).
Junior women: Zoe Brake (Bay of Plenty), Emily Perry (Waikato), Hayley Clinning (Auckland), Lisa Wright (Tasman).
- NZPA