Pearce pulls through at Ngamotu

Daniel Pearce has held off a large charging pack to claim his second victory on the Jennian Homes Charles Tour by just one-shot at the Augusta Funds Management Ngamotu Classic, presented by PipeTech this afternoon.

On a dramatic final day, up to five players including Jared Pender, Mark Brown, Harry Bateman and Troy Ropiha all had a realistic chance to claim top honours, but it was the experience of Pearce that prospered.

Playing in the penultimate group, Brown looked to take control of the tournament with three birdies on his front nine. However, he was unable to get anything going on the back nine before making a 72nd hole birdie to become the club house leader at 10-under.

With Pearce making a crucial birdie on the 17th he entered the final hole with a one-shot lead at 11-under. The attention quickly turned to Jared Pender who had a slippery five-foot putt to advance the tournament to a playoff. This sadly slid by and cleared the stage for Pearce to claim the title.

"Its great to get another win on the Jennian Homes Charles Tour and to get it here in Taranaki where I have been playing for nearly ten years is awesome," said Pearce.

"I had no idea what was going to happen out there with the conditions, but happy to get away with the win, but the main goal was to stay patient."

"I have a lot of golf on between now and Christmas so its always nice to have this feeling and build the confidence heading into a busy period."

The new father is feeling like a changed man as things start to turn for the better.

"Having a child has changed things and has made me work harder. It has given me some perspective that there are more important things than just golf which has helped."

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In the womens field, Caryn Khoo has broken through on the Jennian Homes Charles Tour to win her first event by a convincing three-shot margin over Carmen Lim.

The Aucklander carded rounds of 74, 72, 75 & 76 in challenging conditions all week to prove her class.

While her nearest rival Rose Zheng quickly dropped off the pace, Carmen Lim had other ideas and mounted a final round charge to give Khoo something to think about. Three birdies in her first 12 holes saw Lim close the gap before a disastrous double bogey on 17 ruined her chances and gave Khoo her first taste of success on the Charles Tour.

"It feels great to win here and Im probably more relieved right now. Its been a long time since I have won here, so Im very happy," smiled Khoo.

"Carmen was coming at me all day, so it wasnt until the final putt dropped that it sunk in."

Khoo aims to make the Auckland Interprovincial side before heading back to America in an attempt to turn professional.

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This event now puts a halt on the Jennian Homes Charles Tour until 2018 where Akarana will host the third of five events in early April.

- This story has been automatically published using a media release from Golf NZ