Josh Geary has had a scintillating back nine to win the Renaissance Brewing New Zealand Stroke Play Championship, while Sam Jones and Vivian Lu came up trumps for the New Zealand Men’s and Women’s Amateur Stroke Play titles.

They say the golf tournament starts on the back nine on Sunday, and Geary produced some of his best golf to come home in seven-under and steal the title away from amateur Sam Jones in the dying stages of the event. He carded rounds of 68, 68, 73, and 65 to finish at 14-under to win by one.

He started the back nine three-shots behind Jones and managed to kickstart the closing stages of his tournament with a birdie on ten. He holed his second on 11 for eagle and birdied the 12th to tie Jones’s lead suddenly.

The pair traded blows, with Geary making birdies on the 14th 16th and rolled in a clutch birdie on 18 to put the tournament out of reach. The only way he could be caught was if Jones made eagle up the last.

Jones went close, making a birdie to fall one short on the last.

The victory is Geary’s first since the Akarana Open in 2019, and naturally, he’s stoked the monkey is off his back.

“This feels pretty awesome. It was a bit of a battle all day out there, and even yesterday, I felt like I wasn’t getting much out of my golf, but yeah, I made that birdie on ten and holed out for eagle on 11 and made some pretty clutch putts on the last five holes. It all seemed to come together at the right time.

“My putting clicked today. I tend to get hyper-focused when the pressures on, and it helps my putting especially. A few putts dropped at the right time.”

“I’ve had a lot of good results over the past couple of years, and I haven’t managed to get over the line, so it was great to get that monkey off my back. It’s getting harder to win out here, and everyone is getting better; it’s great to see that the Jennian Homes Charles Tour is doing its job by improving the professionals and elite amateurs which is a great sign. It means more when you win now,” Geary says.

The victory sets him up well for the rest of the year as he aims to get back over to Europe to play more events.

“This is great momentum for the rest of the year. I’ve only just started practising and playing again after two or three months. I have a few Pro-Am’s up north and one in Queenstown, and then I’m getting ready to head overseas not long after that.

“It’s always good to get some competitive golf under your belt and some high-pressure golf too, which is invaluable for when we go to these bigger events abroad.”

The man he beat didn’t walk away empty-handed.

Sam Jones still walked away with the New Zealand Men’s Amateur Stroke Play Championship, awarded to the lowest amateur in the event.

He began the day two shots in front and played solid golf throughout his opening nine to hold a three-shot lead with nine holes to play.

He made a great par on the tenth after hitting his tee shot into the penalty area, and then made three birdies in a row to keep his nose in front of a fast-finishing Geary.

Jones’s tee shot on 17 proved costly as he hit his ball into the penalty area, resulting in a bogey. This meant he needed either birdie or eagle the last depending on what Geary did up 18 in the group ahead. When Geary rolled in his birdie putt, Jones needed to hole out from the fairway for eagle to force a playoff.

He came close, hitting his approach to eight feet.

He slotted the putt to take out the amateur honours.

“I know this isn’t a consolation prize and I’m really stoked to get this one over the line even though I fell short for the overall trophy. I played really solid all day and I was checking the leaderboard all day to see where everyone was at.

“Josh [Geary] had an awesome back nine to take it away from me but I’m still really stoked to win the New Zealand Men’s Amateur Stroke Play title,” he explains.

Jones has recently changed swing coaches and was eager to see how his game held up on the back nine on Sunday.

He says he’s happy with his progress.

“Being in contention on the back nine was exactly what I was looking to do this week. I checked the leaderboard through nine and saw I was three ahead, which I was looking for. It was great to feel the pressures of being in contention with a new swing, so I’m really happy.”

“My game has been pretty up and down. I leaked a couple down the stretch like my tee shot on 17, but overall, I’m really happy with where it’s at.”

His tournament has set him up well for the rest of the year as he has eyes on making the Eisenhower Trophy team.

“My main goal is to make the Eisenhower team, and this week was a great stepping stone for that. If I keep playing well, there is no reason I can’t be a fixture when it comes to selection time.”

He finished with rounds of 69, 66, 71, and 69 to finish 13-under-par.

Winning the New Zealand Women’s Amateur Stroke Play was Royal Auckland and Grange’s Vivian Lu, who went back-to-back after winning the event last year.

She’s the first to win back-to-back titles in 27 years, with the last person to do it being Catherine Knight in 1994 and 1995.

Lu was in control all-tournament, shooting rounds of 70, 72, 71, and 72 to finish three-under, six-shots clear of her nearest rival Tara Raj.

Lu says it’s great to win consecutive titles.

“It feels great. I’m really happy I was I was able to pull it off today, and knowing that Lydia didn’t go back-to-back is a bit of an ego-boost.”

“The gameplan today was just to do what I’ve been doing the entire week. I just wanted to stay consistent today and shoot somewhere around even-par.”

“I want to try and win the New Zealand Amateur again and just play my best in all the events I end up playing in. This has given me a bit of confidence for the year ahead.”