Golf: Youth talent to fore

The advance of some talented youth has brought a changing of the guard for the women's interprovincial championships, starting in New Plymouth today.

A number of talented young players have forced their way to the top of the order in several of the provincial sides for the annual Lion Foundation-sponsored matchplay teams event at Westown Golf Club.

Enu Chung of Auckland, Amy Smith from Wellington and Bay of Plenty-Thames Valley's Penny Newbrook, all members of this year's New Zealand under-21 side, have all been promoted to No 1 in their respective teams.

Added to this is the return of outstanding junior prospect Olivia Hartley after a stint in the United States to lead the host Taranaki combination.

Chung, just 14, steps up to the top slot in a young Auckland combination that includes teenagers Natasha Krishna and Jessica Park.

Smith's rise has been meteoric, and she will head a particularly young combination. She was preferred over international Hee-Jeong Chun and fellow junior internationals Sarah Nicholson and Kyla Welsh.

Newbrook has won promotion due to the unavailability of internationals Brenda Ormsby and Tina Howard, who with Wendy Hawkes are in Singapore preparing for the Espirito Santo world women's teams championship. Bay of Plenty-Thames Valley are another young combination, including Taupo pair Emma Kunac and Tammy Clelland.

Not all is youth and inexperience. Former national champion Jan Storey is back for a strong-looking Waikato-King Country combination, who will defend their title.

Another former champion, Lisa Herbert, makes a return, playing at No 1 for the Manawatu-Wanganui side, while international Anita Boon leads North Harbour.

The 14 provincial teams will play in two sections, with round-robin matchplay from today until Friday. The top two teams from each section contest semifinals on Saturday morning and the 18-hole final is in the afternoon.

* Annika Sorenstam became the first LPGA Tour member in 24 years to win nine titles in a season, claiming the Samsung-sponsored World Championship at Vallejo, California, yesterday.

Three days shy of her 32nd birthday, Sorenstam carded a bogey-free seven-under-par 65 for a six-stroke victory over Cristie Kerr. Her four-round total of 22-under 266 was the best on tour in relation to par this season.

The win was her ninth in 18 LPGA Tour starts this year. Only five players have won as many as nine events in a season.

One of her goals is to break the single-season record for wins, set by Mickey Wright, who had 13 in 1963. Sorenstam has won three straight tour events and would have to claim the last five on the schedule.