Four players with a mixture of experience and youth have won the last three PGA of New Zealand Pro-Ams.
PGA veteran Brett Allen won the Milford Asset Management Boulcotts Farm Heritage Pro-Am at the end of January, rookie professional Nick Coxon got his first win as a professional golfer at the CER Electrical & Holmes Construction Martinborough Pro-Am; two young guns, James Tauariki and Sung Jin Yeo, won the Bayleys Waitemata Pro-Am a week later, while veteran professional Richard Lee was too good at the Grove Mitre 10 Pupuke Pro-Am, winning at his home course as a junior.
Starting the stretch, Allen shot a solid five-under-66 at Boulcotts Farm, a round that included six birdies and a bogey. He beat Gareth Paddison and Mason Lee by a shot, with Richard Lee a further shot behind in fourth.
In Martinborough, Coxon fired an impressive nine-under-63 to take the chocolates by a stroke over Daniel Pearce and Mason Lee. The 27-year-old filled out a colourful scorecard which included an eagle, nine birdies, two bogeys, and only six pars.
At the Bayleys Waitemata Pro-Am, both Tauariki and Yeo shot six-under-64s to win by a couple over Gareth Paddison and James Hydes, who has been accumulating several top 10 finishes.
Yeo hit 16 greens in regulation en route to his blemish-free round, which saw him birdie holes nine, 10, 13, 14, 16, and 17. His round was matched by Tauariki, who made seven birdies and a bogey.
Finally, at yesterday’s Grove Mitre 10 Pupuke Pro-Am, not many got close to Lee’s heroic efforts. Lee carded an incredible eight-under-62 at a course he knows very well, winning by three strokes over Jerry Song.
His round included seven birdies, an eagle, and a bogey.
Sharing third was Tauariki, who is announcing himself as quite the Pro-Am specialist, alongside Bay of Plenty-based professional and three-time Jennian Homes Charles Tour winner, Luke Toomey.
Coming up is the first Jennian Homes Charles Tour event of the year – the inaugural Race to Tieke. Players invited will be playing next week at Tieke Golf Estate, followed by the New Zealand Open and NZPGA Championship.