College sports: Debutante has drive to succeed

By TERRY MADDAFORD

Fourteen-year-old Bobea Park, the only girl among the 32 players at the national secondary schools golf championships in Wellington, was the toast of Rangitoto College last night.

The North Shore school, playing in the tournament for the first time, upset defending champions Rotorua Boys' High.

Park, the first girl entrant in the tournament's 19-year history, shot the equal low round - reduced to nine holes because of heavy frost - of 34 yesterday morning. She recorded 78 in the final round.

Rangitoto held off a late charge from Rotorua to win by a shot. Christchurch Boys' High were 11 shots back in third place, one ahead of Hamilton Boys' High.

Park and 16-year-old Doug Wylde, who matched her first-up 34, helped Rangitoto to a five-shot lead going into the afternoon's final round.

But they were upstaged by schoolmate Andrew Park (no relation) who fired an amazing five-under 67 to post the day's best score.

Andrew Park, a 16-year-old fifth former and, like Bobea Park, originally from South Korea, plays off scratch at the North Shore Golf Club.

Bobea Park fired 34, 78; Andrew Park, 35, 67; Wylde 34, 80; and Simon Cresswell 37, 77.

Sam Hunt, a member of the Rotorua BHS team who won the world intercollegiate championships in 2000 and 2001, fired 35 in the shortened morning round and an even-par 72 later.

Hunt's team-mate Terry Hong, another Korean, recorded the second-best round, a three-under 69, as the defending champions mounted their late charge.

The top two schools are now set to represent New Zealand in the transtasman challenge, which is likely to be held in New Zealand next year.

Under the tournament rules, Bobea Park played off the women's tees. The course rating system gave her a one-stroke allowance in the morning and three in the later round.

Team manager Richard Lamb said this helped in the end.

"But really there was no big advantage for a tiny 14-year-old girl playing against some very good boys."

Park, who started playing as an eight-year-old and came to New Zealand three years later to "get her English up to speed" and to improve her golf, won her place in the team fair and square, Lamb said.

"In the northern playoffs there were no allowances. We did not know until we arrived here that she would be given strokes which came off the team score."

Hunt was the only member of last year's victorious world championship team who competed at the Heretaunga event.

Hong and Mark Cooney played in this year's transtasman, as did Hamilton's Mark Purser and Sam Thomas.