After an exciting two days our 2025 Lamb and Hayward canterbury Stroke Play champions have been finalised. Played at the Templeton Golf Club, some of the best amateurs from across Canterbury and New Zealand were in attendance to compete for the titles, alongside World Amateur Ranking points and potentially spots for the final NZ Open Qualifying event.
In the men’s division, 16-year-old Etienne Collier set the early pace in round 1 on Saturday morning shooting an impressive -5 round of 68 to lead the pack, he was closely followed by former Stroke Play champion Nic Kay who shot 69 with Mike Toeke and Ricky Kang just one and two shots further back respectively.
Onto round 2 and a change of several tee block locations presenting some arguably improved scoring opportunities for the players. This challenge was duly met by many with a string of impressive rounds recorded.
The highlight round was that of Cooper Moore, who after a slow start by his standards in round one shooting +2, recorded a fantastic -7 round of 66 to bring himself back into contention climbing 20 spots up the Men’s Open leaderboard. Ricky Kang was equally impressive himself shooting a second round -4 to move to the top of the leaderboard at 6 under par. Other notable rounds included a -4 by William Mclauchlan to move into 3rd, a -5 round by Jono Fry to move into 4th, and Masters player Glenn Coughlan’s round of 68 to bring him into contention.
So onto Day 2 the Men’s open went with 9 different players within 3 shots of leader Ricky Kang. As the play progressed however, it became apparent it was a two-horse race with Cooper Moore making a hot start and with leader Kang also scoring well to keep him at bay as they moved clear of the pack. With both players playing superbly, they traded positions on several occasions moving to 12 under throughout.
However, it was Canterbury number 1 Cooper Moore who’s class shone through eventually with a truly amazing back 9 converting 6 birdies from his final 9 holes to close out the win by 2 shots finishing at a tournament total 14 under par. His final -9 round of 64 equalling a Templeton Golf Club course record in the progress as he captured his maiden Canterbury Men’s Stroke Play title becoming the 52nd winner in the tournament’s history, adding yet another accolade to his growing amateur record.
Congratulations and praise must be given too to runner-up Ricky Kang who himself shot a stunning 12 under tournament total finishing with a 6 under round of 67 to be the only player in the field to shoot three sub-par rounds in the event.
Click here to see the Men’s Open Top 10 Leaderboard.
In the Women’s Open contest, as billed there were several potential candidates with several Golf NZ academy players in the field looking to claim the top spot. After the first round, the leading player was Auckland’s Emma Zheng who set the early pace with her 3 under round of 70, this was closely followed by Otago’s number 1 Yoonae Jeong who scored a -2 round of 71 to keep pace. Rounding out the top three was Russley’s Jiayi (YoYo) Fu’s even round of 73.
Onto the afternoon and it was the previously mentioned Fu that kicked on the best as she put the foot down to record a stunning 6 under round of 67 which featured 7 birdies. That combined with some perhaps unexpected play from the others in the field resulted in Fu holding a 5-shot lead as both Zheng and Jeong both shot over par. The other impressive performance of the second round was played by Teresa Wang who shot a 3 under round of 71 to move into third position.
Onto day 2 and with Jiayi (YoYo) Fu looking to maintain her overnight lead and claim her second title within the month having claimed the u19 Canterbury Girls title in late January. Her front 9 had a bit of everything with 2 bogeys, 2 birdies and an eagle to extend her lead at the top, however her back 9 was nothing short of stunning as Fu made 6 birdies to cruise to an amazing 12 shot lead as her fellow competitors could simply not keep pace, eventually finishing at 14 under par thanks to her final 8 under round of 65. Once again a Templeton Golf Club Women’s course record. Teresa Wang was the next best moving into second place shooting a 3 under round to finish at -2 for the tournament with Emma Zheng climbing onto the podium shooting a final round of 72 to finish at even par for the tournament.
Click here to see the Women’s Open Top 10 Leaderboard.
In the Men’s Masters division, this turned out to be a seesawing event with several players making impressive starts which put them well in contention for the overall men’s title. The best rounds of Saturday morning were played by Aaron Forsyth who shot a 3 under 70, Riki Borrell who shot a 2 under 71 with Jeff Hewitt and Woo Bong Kim both shooting 1 over.
In round 2, Avondale’s Borrell continued his hot start with a round of 1 under, while Forsyth also shot par. The biggest move though was from Glenn Coughlan who shot a big 5 under 68 to join Borrell and Forsyth at the top at -3. James Howard also climbed 10 spots with his round of 69 to sit in 5th place. Onto Day 2 and with 3 masters played at -3, three shots ahead of the chasers, it was all to play for. Both Borrell and Coughlan played solid golf to stay level with each other as Forsyth began to drop back. Elsewhere Leon Yee and James Howard made solid runs with their 2 under rounds of 72 putting them contention. However, both Borrell and Coughlan matched each other’s 1-over rounds to finish in a tie of -2 for the tournament.
As per the conditions of the Canterbury Stroke Play, with the Championship titles to be determined via play-off if scores are tied, of the men went to settle the title. The first play-off hole was squared which then required a subsequent hole, before Riki Borrell eventually did enough to claim the Masters title.
Click here to see the Men’s Masters Open Top 10 Leaderboard.
Finally, in the Masters Women’s division, 8 ladies did battle at this year’s event. As the form guide suggested the top-seeded group proved to be the ones to watch with top seed and defending champion Rachel Eder leading after round 1 with her round of 77. It was a three-way tie for second however with Ginny Bolderston, Naomi Wallace, and Virginia Faass all shooting 80. During the second round however, Eder extended her lead again shooting a round of 77 but with the chase pack not matching this. Bolderston shot a 78 to sit in second 4 shots back with Jo Kent shooting a 79 to climb into 3rd.
During the final round Eder started a bit slower enabling Bolderston to claw back some of the gap following the chaser converting a couple of birdies after the turn to make things interesting. However, Eder proved too good with her final round of 82 still being enough to win by 3 shots from Bolderston. Naomi Wallace had the best final round with her 78 to move into third.
Click here to see the Women’s Masters Open Top 10 Leaderboard.
All in all, as expected it was a quality weekend of golf from a quality field. A massive thank you goes to the Templeton Golf Club for their hosting of the event as well as thanks to the Canterbury Referee’s Association for their time throughout.
Click here to see the full 2025 Canterbury Stroke Play Results.
Click here to see the full Event Photo Album.
