Golf: Cup rekindles Korean connection

Cecilia Cho. Photo / Richard Robinson

When Cecilia Cho and Lydia Ko tee off for New Zealand in the Queen Sirikit Cup golf tournament at Hamilton today it will bring full circle a relationship that began at North Shore 21 years ago.

Along with Bay of Plenty's Zoe Brake, the Korean-born youngsters will compete against 12 other countries, including the country of their birth, in a three-round strokeplay contest with the best two scores each round to count to the team total.

South Korea are the defending champions and have won the title 11 times since their first victory at the North Shore Golf Club in 1989.

Since then their players have become a potent force in golf at the highest level around the world. That first golfing contact with New Zealand has brought a stream of immigrants who have changed the face of the game in this country.

It was all rather different in 1989. South Korea had never won and China made their debut. The Korean players caught the eye, with their boyish figures and smart white trousers as they boomed their drives down the fairways.

They went on to play in the national championships at Napier, where Woo Jae Sook won both the strokeplay and matchplay titles.

The Koreans had never played matchplay before and in the early rounds insisted on seeing even the shortest putts holed out. Told that gimmes were usually conceded, they then conceded sizeable putts but still won.

The New Zealand team of Jan Higgins, Sheree Higgens and Tracey Hanson finished third at North Shore but New Zealand have enjoyed considerable success over the years.

They won in 1984 in Queensland, again six years later in Hong Kong and also won the last time the event was staged in this country in 1999.

This week they field their youngest team with Brake, 18, Cho, 15, and Ko, 12.

Brake is the reigning national strokeplay champion, Cho is the national matchplay and Australian strokeplay titleholder and Ko finished seventh and leading amateur in the New Zealand Open this year.

The teams tee off at the Hamilton Golf Club from 8am today.