Golf: Brake's birdies set path to victory

Zoe Brake, 17, on her way to winning the National Strokeplay Championship. Photo / Paul Estcourt

Memories of her second placing at last year's women's strokeplay at Waikanae came flooding back to 17-year-old Zoe Brake as she battled her way to victory on the windswept Remuera course yesterday.

"Last year I started the final round with a two-shot lead and I'd lost that by the second hole," said the Whakatane teen. "When I lost the lead this morning in the third round, I thought: 'Not again'."

She fought back with two birdies and an eagle on the second nine to maintain a two-shot lead over her New Zealand teammate Emily Perry as they started the final 18.

There were some hiccups, including a drive out of bounds at the last as the wind whipped up from the northeast, but Perry was having troubles of her own, and a final round of 76 and a par total of 292 gave Brake a three-shot winning margin.

Shooting into second was the South Island champion, Cecilia Cho (Pakuranga), who played the final nine holes five under for a closing 68.

"I kept thinking that I needed to get in there with pars and it would be all right," said Brake.

She attributed her good form to hours of hard practice after a disappointing result in the North Island championships at Muriwai this month where she described her swing as "horrendous".

Over at Titirangi, the men's strokeplay was an international affair with the lead group for the final 18 holes made up of two Australians and a South African.

Eighteen-year-old Bryden Macpherson from Melbourne birdied the first five holes on his way to a 65 for a six-under total of 204. He is the Australian strokeplay champion but did not make the team who contested the Southern Cross Cup at Wairakei last week. He starts today with a two-shot margin over South African Nicol Van Wyk, who shot 70.

The top world amateur Scott Arnold is four further back after a 69 ruined by a bogey and a double-bogey in the closing holes. Overnight leader 15-year-old Chan Young Chung is on 211 after a 75.