Golf: McCall completes rare double

Vaughan McCall. Photo / Photosport.

Southland golfer Vaughan McCall has achieved a rare double in New Zealand Golf.

The 20-year-old from the Gore Club is the first golfer to win both the national stroke play and amateur titles in the same year for the first time in 24 years after overcoming Rotorua teenager Peter Lee 6 and 5 in fine conditions this afternoon at the Mount Maunganui Golf Club.

Meanwhile, with two sisters contesting the title for the first time in the 119-year history of the event, Munchin Keh (19) was too good for her younger sister Wenyung (15) winning on the 36th hole with one of the shots of the championship.

But it was the record-breaking feats of McCall that had most of the locals in the Mount Maunganui Golf Club talking as he became the first Kiwi to do the rare double in 39 years after Tauranga golfer Mike Nicholson won both events at the Springfield Golf Club in 1973.

McCall was delighted to hold aloft the trophy.

"It means a lot to me to win this title and to win both the Amateur and the Stroke Play in the same year just makes it sugar-coated," he said.

"It is pretty cool to make some history. This is awesome for Southland golf and they are helping me out now too so this great for them. I can't wait to get back to the Gore Golf Club and share this with them."

The Srixon Academy member is known for being one of the best putters in the local game delivered his best when it mattered most.

"I got the ball rolling really well today. I had a really good process in my mind for what I was trying to do with putting today and I made 100 per cent of putts from inside 10 feet today so that is a stat I am pretty proud of."

McCall said the turning point of the match was in the first round on the 16th where he had a 30 foot putt for birdie to Lee's eight feet.

McCall is also the first golfer from Southland to win the New Zealand Amateur. He is also the first golfer from the deep south to have won the NZ

Stroke Play and in 2011 he led Southland to their first win in the Toro Interprovincial.

McCall, who made the turn with a three up advantage with great birdie putts at the 16th and the 18th, carried his momentum in the afternoon. He won the first two holes after lunch to move to five up and from there Lee was always playing catch up.

Lee made a fine birdie on the 25th hole to get back to four down but every time he rallied McCall held him off with fine saves for par. The No.2 seed went six up with seven holes to play and then finished off the job with a fine par on the 13th.

"Peter is a great talent and I think he has a big future. He was a bit inconsistent today and that came down to the pressure and he'll learn from this and be better for it."

Meanwhile the women's match, which was all square after 18, went down to the wire with a good gallery on the 36th hole.

Munchin Keh held a dormy three advantage but Wenyung stayed alive on 16 and then made a great putt for par on the par 3 17th to force the match down the 18th.

Munchin, with a one-up advantage only needed a par to seal the title but delivered an incredible shot from the rough 150m out to within 1m from the hole to effectively seal the title.

Wenyung hit her approach to 10m from the hole and then drained the birdie putt to force her older sister to make her putt. Munchin coolly sank her putt for the biggest win of her young career.