Golf: NZ name strong team for Thailand

Vaughan McCall (Gore). Photo / Getty Images.

New Zealand have named a strong team for the 2013 Asia-Pacific amateur golf team championship in Thailand, as they attempt to lift the Nomura Cup for the second time.

Vaughan McCall (Gore), Joshua Munn (Manawatu), Luke Toomey (Lochiel) and Cameron Jones (Gulf Harbour) will contest the event at the Santiburi Country Club in Chiang Rai next month.

New Zealand Golf high performance manager Gregg Thorpe believed the Kiwis had a great chance of claiming the title for the second time.

"These guys have performed consistently both home and abroad in the past 18 months and have earned their place on merit,'' he said.

"Vaughan and Josh are seasoned competitors at the international level while Luke and Cameron have shown some exciting form in 2013 to be selected in the senior team for the first time.''

The last time New Zealand held aloft the Nomura Cup was in 1995, when the Russley Golf Club in Christchurch hosted the event. All four players tasked with tending that 18-year drought have been standout performers throughout the 2013 season.

McCall returns for his second Nomura Cup after being part of the team that finished runner-up to Australia in 2011. This year he played superbly in Texas to qualify for the US Championship and become the first Kiwi since Danny Lee to progress to the event.

Munn has shown good form on both the local and international stage, achieving his "most significant international win'' in January when he claimed the Lake Macquarie Cup in Australia.

Toomey came close to winning the LawnMaster Classic on The Charles Tour when he finished runner-up by one stroke to Grant Moorhead in February. He also shot an 11-under par 61 at Manawatu in qualifying for the NZ Amateur to win the two-round event by 11 shots.

Jones achieved his breakthrough win on the national scene when he won the NZ Stroke Play at the Paraparaumu Beach Golf Club. He shot an incredible six-under par 30 on the back nine to claim the win, before backing that up abroad by finishing tied ninth at the Canadian Amateur.