Golf: Brown to lead the local charge

Whangarei golfer Kadin Neho will be one to watch at the North Island Stroke Play Championships. Photo / John Stone

Northland's best up-and-coming players will take to the greens of Waitangi Golf Club tomorrow as the North Island Men's and Women's Stroke Play Championships get under way at the picturesque Bay of Islands course.

The first time the event will be held at Waitangi since its inception in 1938, Luke Brown (The Pines) will be leading the local charge after performing well on the national scene this year.

"It's been solid, it's been consistent," the current Auckland Strokeplay Champion said of his performances to date, which include a first, two second-placings and two fifth-place finishes in his past five New Zealand Golf Order of Merit events.

Posting a first-round score of 73 to be tied for 48th at the Carrus Open in Tauranga last week, Brown bounced back - shooting 10 under par on his last three rounds - to finish the event 12th overall and ranked the fifth-overall amateur. Working on his short game, putting, long iron and ball-striking this year, improvements are starting to show.

"I've got heaps of confidence, I know the course off the back of my hand ... hopefully I can add the win," Brown said of the Waitangi event, which runs from tomorrow until Saturday. "The only [tricky] hole is the new 11th, it's quite a long par 5 so you have to be quite accurate."

One difficult factor of his rampant run through 2015 has been the constant niggle of ganglia in one of his wrists.

While surgery could have relieved the injury, a predicted 30 per cent loss of motion and a three-month stint on the sidelines was enough for Brown to say "no" to the knife.

"I wouldn't have done what I have this year," Brown said of his decision to avoid surgery.

"They used to hit them with The Bible because that was the heaviest book available," he added of a traditional remedy used to fix the benign swelling which ganglia emits on tendons.

"I might give it a go at the end of the year," he laughed, "but I might have to have a few drinks first."

Other Northland players entering the mix include Julian Fowler, Taylor Gill, Kevin Kruse, Alex Neely, Kadin Neho, Christian Nitsche, Bob Shirley, Samantha Dangen, Brooke Kingi, Taimana Ngakuru, Belinda May, Soktaerodh and Soktaera Sean.

Also in the field are Tae Koh (former winner of the Australian Amateur Championship in 2014) and Vaughn McCall (former winner of the NZ Strokeplay and Matchplay titles).

Recent winners of the men's event include Danny Lee in 2008 and Ryan Fox in 2011, while Lydia Ko was the women's champion in 2010 and 2011.

Play starts tomorrow and Friday at 8am, with 18 holes played each day. The final 36 holes will be played on Saturday, and spectators are welcome to attend.