Top flight Hawkes Bay amateur Mako Thompson will pose some threats for Manawatu Wanganui in the Shand Cup at Belmont this weekend. Photo / Patrick Wong
Top flight Hawkes Bay amateur Mako Thompson will pose some threats for Manawatu Wanganui in the Shand Cup at Belmont this weekend. Photo / Patrick Wong
The Wanganui Golf Club hosts a coveted three competition quadrangular at Belmont this weekend.
The Shand Cup, Stu Smith Memorial (Masters) and Sybil Green trophies are on offer in the traditional quadrangular featuring players representing Taranaki, Manawatu-Wanganui, Hawkes Bay and Wellington.
The three competitions are run in conjunction on Saturday and Sunday at the Belmont course as part of the upcoming Wanganui Golf Club 125th Jubilee celebrations over Labour Weekend.
The event provides a great opportunity for some match play competition before the National Interprovincials.
The Shand Cup is the premier event, featuring the best amateur men's talent in teams from the four associations.
The Stu Smith Memorial is for masters players and the Wanganui club has two players in that team — Stu Gillespie and Rick Harding. Junior Tatana, who began his illustrious golfing career at Belmont, is also in the field.
Like the Shand Cup and Stu Smith Memorial, the Sybil Green features women's teams from those same golfing provinces. Wanganui is represented by Tara Raj and her younger sister Sera in the Manawatu-Wanganui team.
Tara Raj will give the homeside muscle in the Sybil Green women's tournament at Belmont this weekend. Photo / Simon Watts/www.bwmedia.co.nz
Perhaps one of the strongest players in the Masters division is Tony Chettleburgh, who is fortunately in the Manawatu Wanganui team. Chettleburgh is in the New Zealand senior team to play in the Asia Pacific Masters in November.
Form players Trent Munn, Tyler Hodge and especially Liam Finlayson give Manawatu Wanganui a solid chance in the Shand Cup, although they will need all their skills against a strong Hawke's Bay line-up that includes Mako Thompson and Stuart Duff who have both been performing well at national level.
Duff is of senior age and, in fact, is in the same senior team as Chettleburgh to represent New Zealand in the Asia Pacific.
Wellington features Kerry Mountcastle in their Shand Cup line-up. Mountcastle is in the latest New Zealand Eisenhower team and has been at top national level for the past two years at least.
Wellington also have New Zealand junior team player Darae Chung entered in the Sybil Green contest. Chung is fresh from winning the Carrus Open women's division on the Jennian Homes Charles Tour in Tauranga on Sunday.
Manawatu Wanganui, however, have a strong hand in the Sybil Green with five of their seven players named making up the team that made the semifinals of the Toro International this year - Tara Raj, Brydie Hodge, Zhuoyi Hu, Lisa Herbert and Lily Griffin.
Manawatu Wanganui Teams (not in playing order)
+ Shand Cup (Men) Liam Finlayson Anthony Ilton-Maher Josh Sedgwick Trent Munn Tyler Hodge Angus Findlay Bradley McSherry Regan McConaghty
+ Stu Smith Memorial (Masters Men) Rick Harding Tony Chettleburgh Ross Geary Junior Tatana Stu Gillespie James Humphrey
+ Sybil Green (Women) Brydie Hodge Lily Griffin Zhuoyi Hu Tara Raj Sera Raj Lisa Herbert Katherine Paskins
Unavailable for the Manawatu Wanganui teams for this event are Tyler Wood, Ewan Westergaard, Phil Hooper and Casey Chettleburgh.
