KEY POINTS:
Palmerston North schoolboy Josh Munn showed maturity beyond his years to guide Manawatu to their first New Zealand club golf title in Hamilton yesterday.
The 16-year-old fired a second round four-under par 68 which proved the key as his Manawatu club held off the challenge from Auckland's Akarana
and Canterbury's Russley at the Lochiel Golf Club.
Manawatu finished with a two-round total of eight-under par for their three best counting scores in the battle with the 17 provincial club finalists. They finished six clear of Akarana on two-under with Russley third on four-over.
New Plymouth came home strongly in the second round to finish fourth on six-over par with three-time winners Springfield (Bay of Plenty) one shot back. Miramar (Wellington) and local side Hamilton shared sixth place on nine-over par.
Manawatu shot a seven-under 209 in the morning to lead Akarana by six shots at the halfway mark with a further four shots to North Harbour's Redwood Park and Russley. Akarana made a charge early in the second round and by mid-round, had moved to four-under par and only two shots away from a stuttering Manawatu. Hayden McCallum led the way to be three-under but hitting his drive out of bounds on his 13th hole took the sting out of the Akarana attack.
Munn was told by team officials that he needed to hold steady over the final three holes.
"I felt a bit of pressure when they said that. I had not even looked at the leaderboards at all," Munn said.
The teenager did better than that. He made birdies at the 16th and 18th on his way to a superb 68, the lowest score of the second round, that pushed Manawatu to eight-under par and clear air.
"I tried to stay aggressive and play the same I had all day. It came off."
Munn has blossomed in tough golf company in recent weeks, finishing an impressive 23rd at the Tauranga Open last week and was the equal fourth best individual at the interclub championships on three-under for his 36 holes.
"Playing in these big tournaments has been fantastic," the Freyberg High School pupil said. "I have definitely improved a lot this year, both with my length and my short game. I've been practising heaps."
New Zealand junior representative Peter Spearman-Burn (Miramar) was the leading individual with a six-under 138, one shot ahead of brilliant 15-year-old Seve Ha (Akarana), who fired the day's best round with a five-under 67 in the morning.
Englishman Stuart Smith was third with a four-under 140, with his fellow Manawatu player Munn joining international Andrew Searle (Russley) and Hayden Ring (New Plymouth) on three-under 141.
