Golf: Hillier sees world hopes fade

Te Puke junior Charlie Hillier has finished in a share of 10th place at the Junior World Golf Championship.Photo/Simon Watts

Bay of Plenty representative Charlie Hillier has faded in the final two rounds to finish in a share of 10th place at the Junior World Golf Championship in San Diego.

The North Island under-19 champion, who was in contention at the midway stage of the tournament after rounds of 73 and 69 at the Torrey Pines Golf Resort, carded rounds of 73 and 77 to finish in a share of 10th place in the boys' 15-17 age division.

The Te Puke golfer finished nine shots behind Australian Ryan Ruffels who signed for rounds of 67 and 69 on the weekend to win by two shots from Taiwan's Chun An Yu.

Fellow Bay of Plenty rep Bailey Smith, who won a junior title in Australia earlier this year, missed the three-round cut after rounds of 78, 77 and 75.

Omanu golfer Liam McFarlane and John Misa Jnr, who won the Junior Tiger Final in April to secure his place in the Worlds, finished off the pace at tied 155th and tied 99th in the 13-14 and 11-12 age groups respectively.

Wellington golfer Jayden Ford showed some promise when he finished in a share of 30th place in the 9-10 boys division.

The Titahi Bay golfer carded rounds of 65, 66 and 65 for a 10-over par total of 196 to finish 15 shots back from the champion Tatsuki Nemoto.

Meanwhile, in the girl's field, Brooke Hamilton was the standout among the Kiwi competitors.

The Waikato golfer, who has been a regular competitor at the Worlds in recent years, finished tied 35th in the Girls 15-17 division.

The Hamilton Golf Club member had rounds of 76, 75, 73 and 76 on the North Course of Torrey Pines to finish 20 shots back from the champion Lou Daniella Uy of the Philippines.

In the same age division, Harewood golfer Nicole Nathan missed the three-round cut.

Final Scores

(US unless noted)

Boys 15-17

283 Ryan Ruffels (AUS) 70 77 67 69

285 Chun An Yu (TAI) 69 74 71 71

286 Gordon Neale 71 73 69 73

288 Isaiah Salinda 72 74 70 72, Amarin Kraivixien 73 73 70 72

289 Tailin Song 72 72 76 69, Aaron Whalen 70 73 73 73, Kaito Onishi 68 71 73 77

291 Sahith Theegala 75 74 72 70

292 Rhett Rasmussen 73 72 75 72, Charlie Hillier (NZL) 73 69 73 77

Also: MC Bailey Smith (NZL) 78 77 75

Boys 13-14

263 (T155) Liam McFarlane (NZL) 84 87 92

Boys 11-12

244 (T99) John Misa (Jnr) (NZL) 82 81 81

Boys 9-10

196 (T30) Jayden Ford (NZL) 65 66 65

Girls 15-17

300 (T35) Brooke Hamilton (NZL) 76 75 73 76

MC Nicole Nathan (NZL) 82 83 80

Girls 13-14

242 (T83) Caitlin Cotterill (NZL) 82 79 81

Girls 11-12

259 (T72) Chloe Maguire (NZL) 84 91 84.