Golf: Kiwis selected for junior British Open

New Zealand amateur women's champion Cecilia Cho and Tyler Hodge have been selected to compete in The Open junior golf championship in Scotland next month.

Auckland's Cho, 15, is the number one ranked female amateur, retaining her New Zealand Amateur crown this year and also finishing runnerup in the Australian Amateur championship.

Hodge, 15, from Levin, finished ninth in the men's New Zealand strokeplay tournament and was tied for 14th in the North Island strokeplay after sharing the lead after 36 holes.

The junior Open runs from July 12-14 with all players then attending the first and second rounds of The Open Championship at St Andrews.

"It's a wonderful opportunity for two outstanding young players to compete internationally on a superb course and more importantly to experience The Open at the home of golf at St Andrews," said New Zealand Golf high performance manager Simon Poll.

Founded in 1994, the biennial junior Open is run by the R&A and is closely linked to The Open championship.

It is open to all countries affiliated to the R&A to send their best male and female under 16.

This year, the 54-hole strokeplay event will be played at Lundin Golf Club, a links course in Fife near St Andrews and often used as an Open Championship qualifying course.

- NZPA