Golf: Strong amateur field

Sarah Nicholson (Hutt) will have to see off the Australian national squad as well as the cream of New Zealand's women's golf talent if she is to retain her national match-play title.

The national women's amateur golf championships will be played at Shirley, Christchurch, from Monday, with the New Zealand foursomes over 36 holes being the first title decided.

After 36 holes of stroke play on Tuesday, the 32 top qualifiers will begin their quest for the New Zealand match-play crown on Wednesday.

Nicholson, 21, broke through for her first success at Wanganui last year, beating Otago's Jenny Park, 2-up, in the final. But while Park is missing from the 62-strong field next week, the beaten semifinalists, Penny Newbrook (Springfield) and Haeji Kang, then with Whangarei but now at Surfer's Paradise, are among the entries.

Nicholson, a plus-three handicapper, is one of 10 New Zealanders playing off a plus handicap, the others being fellow national representatives Newbrook, Sharon Ahn (Takapuna), Natasha Krishna (Auckland) and Jackie Shin (Rotorua), along with Robyn Boniface (Queens Park), Eunice Jin (Christchurch), Mi Kyung Kim (Pupuke), Dasom Lee (Pakuranga) and Jaimee-Lee Moses (Motueka).

Nicholson, New Zealand's female amateur golfer of the year in 2004, has had another busy but rewarding year, winning in Victoria and having represented her country in the Tasman Cup against Australia, at the Queen Sirikit Cup in Thailand and in The Spirit International in the United States in October.

Earlier this year she finished fourth in the New Zealand stroke-play championship at Titirangi behind Ahn, Nikki Garrett (Australia and now professional) and Mi Kyung Kim.

Nicholson's teammate in the foursomes, her good friend Newbrook, will be one of her main threats. The 2004 national stroke-play champion has already experienced success at Shirley this year, winning the Canterbury match-play title emphatically after eliminating Nicholson in the semifinals and beating Moses in the final.

Ahn, 14, has had a memorable year. She became the youngest winner of the New Zealand stroke-play championship when she won by two shots at Titirangi. She represented New Zealand in the Tasman Cup, Queen Sirikit and Spirit International tournaments. She was No 1 for the winning North Harbour team at the inter-provincial championships at Ngaruawahia in October.

Another member of the successful North Harbour team, Kim, won the New Zealand foursomes title with Sally Choi (New Plymouth) last year and, after losing to Newbrook in the second round of match play, she claimed the New Zealand plate with a 1-up win against Boniface in the final.

Krishna has performed outstandingly throughout the year, winning the national under-21 and secondary schoolgirls' championships to go with her 2004 wins in the Greg Norman world junior masters in Australia and the Auckland under-23 match play.

She was in New Zealand's winning team against Australia in the Tasman Cup and contested the Queen Sirikit Cup in Thailand.

Three of Australia's Tasman Cup team - Emma Bennett, Bree Turnbull and Jody Fleming - lead a nine-strong Australian assault.

- NZPA