All is set for the region’s premier Stroke Play event as the 2025 Lamb and Hayward Canterbury Stroke Play Championship begins tomorrow at Templeton Golf Club. We have a full field of 108 participants from across a total of 44 different golf clubs across New Zealand – from as far south as Invercargill, north to Auckland, and everywhere in between. View the complete list of clubs – HERE.
The event is played over 54 holes, with a double round on the Saturday before the draw is reseeded for the final round on Sunday. Both the Open Men’s and Open Women’s titles are to be played for alongside trophies and prizes for the Men’s Masters, Women’s Masters, and U19 Men. The event also couples as the 2025 South Island Stroke Play as well as importantly for a lot of the aspiring players in the field has World Amateur Ranking points up for grabs. Finally, the event also acts as a last opportunity qualifier for the 2025 NZ Open Final Qualifying Event with a total of 3 spots available for those players who are yet to secure a spot in this event. All in all, a lot to play for! To view the Day 1 Draw see – HERE.
In the Men’s division, there is many players who have the potential to lift the trophy with many of them in good form coming into the event. Local hopes include the likes of current NZ Amateur Champion Cooper Moore who comes in as the events top seed and would love to get his name on a trophy that has been played for since 1958. Fresh of an 11th place finish at the Australian Master of Amateurs, a 4th place finish at the Australian Amateur Championships, and a runner-up finish last week at the Otago Stroke Play he will be amongst the favourites to go a couple better than his 3rd place at last years event. Another big local hope includes Sam McGill who has spent plenty of time at Templeton having previously played for the club. McGill has had a strong summer with wins at several local club opens following a strong showing at the recent NZ Interprovincial tournament in December, so he is definitely one to watch. In the groups following there are plenty of other locally based players to keep an eye on including the likes of Yuki Miya and Tom Lee who finished 3rd and 4th respectively at last weekend’s Otago Stroke Play. Out of town hopes include the likes of Otago youngster Ricky Kang who finished 10th at last year’s event and the ever-consistent Mike Toeke of Reefton fresh of a runner-up finish at the NZ Māori National Championship event.
To see the full history and past winners of the Canterbury Men’s Stroke Play title see – HERE.
In the Women’s field, the top seeded group contains all visitors to the region. Top seed and previous champion Yoonae Jeong will be hoping to repeat her 2022 triumph as she returns as one of the favourites. Another big prospect is Auckland’s Emma Zheng who was recently named Auckland Women’s Golfer of the Year and has a string of recent wins to her name including the NZ U19 Women’s title last year and the Auckland Stroke Play. Local hopes sit with the likes of Jiayi (Yoyo) Fu and Vanessa Lim who both won their respective u19 & u16 Canterbury Age Group titles just a couple of weeks ago. Other contenders include Canterbury reps Zaria Bourne and Junie Chang who are also strong players looking to contest for medals.
To see the full history and past winners of the Canterbury Women’s Stroke Play title see – HERE.
In the Men’s Masters, again this is a wide open division with many capable players. Top seed is 2022 Champion Ben Crawford with the Tasman player looking to return and again put his name on the trophy. Takuma Kikukawa and Aaron Forsyth will be hoping to be in the mix too, both with pedigree alongside former Canterbury rep David Rattray who has made the trip home from across the ditch to compete. The other name which of course needs to be mentioned is defending champion Kieran Sharvin who had a stella 2024 event finishing 9th overall and a convincing 6 shots clear of his closet Masters competitor at last year’s Stroke Play.
In the Women’s Masters division, there is a field of 8 set to compete for this trophy, local player Rachel Eder will be looking to defend the title she won convincingly in 2024. She will be challenged strongly by Waitikiri and Canterbury Masters Rep Naomi Wallace who has the potential to lift the trophy. Other hopefuls include the likes of Ginny Bolderston and Jo Kent.
Finally, all male players aged u19 will also be playing for the right to lift the Ron Clements trophy which recognises the best performing u19 player. With a total of 30 male players aged 18 or below, there are plenty of candidates with 13 of that list boasting a scratch or better handicap index.
Live Scoring will be available throughout the event so you can keep up to date with how the players are tracking. This can be viewed – HERE.
