Off the tee: Time to forget the past

Canadian Terrill Samuel has some mixed memories of New Zealand as she prepares for the Commonwealth tournament at Remuera next week.

Earthquakes, hypothermia, a national title - the 42-year-old from Ontario dealt with them all during her last visit to this country in 1990.

Samuel, a late starter in the game at the age of 23, was a member of the Canadian team that came here for the world amateur championships at Russley in Christchurch 13 years ago.

In preparation for the big event, they played in the New Zealand championships at Paraparaumu Beach.

Samuel was the form player in the week-long event, winning the strokeplay title and reaching the final of the matchplay, where she faced the doughty local, Lynnette Brooky.

Already the Kapiti Coast weather had tested the visitors with strong winds and rain and a couple of small earthquakes for good measure.

The 36-hole final was played in appalling conditions, water having to be squeegeed off the greens and the few spectators huddled in groups against the elements.

Brooky finally won on the 37th, the first of her two matchplay titles before turning professional. Samuel missed the prizegiving as she received treatment for hypothermia.

Brooky was not in the New Zealand team, which finished second at the world championships the next weekend. Canada finished out of the placings.

But Canada have been more successful in the four-yearly Commonwealth tournaments, which started in 1959. They won in 1979 in Perth and in 1987 in Christchurch. New Zealand have yet to win.

Australia won the last two contests and also in 1983. Great Britain won the first five and again in 1991. South Africa have never won.

For the Remuera tournament, which will be officially opened by the Governor-General on Monday and will run until Saturday, Canada and Great Britain have opted for very experienced lineups. New Zealand, Australia and South Africa on the other hand have included a number of teenagers.

New Zealand's "veteran" is Penny Newbrook from Rotorua, who is 20. Stacey Tate (Huapai) and Sarah Nicholson (Hutt) are 18, Jenny Park (Otago) is 16 and Enu Chung (Auckland) is 15.

Newbrook and Chung have already represented New Zealand in the Queen Sirikit tournament, and Nicholson was a Tasman Cup player. Park was second in the under-17 Aaron Baddeley junior world championship, and Tate's outstanding form in the final earned North Harbour the interprovincial trophy at Invercargill recently.

Seventeen-year-old Sarah Kemp is Australia's outstanding player. She was top amateur at the Australian Open and has won the Australian, West Australian and South Australian strokeplay championships this season.

The New South Wales and Queensland titles went to team-mate Sarah-Jane Kenyon, 19.

South Africa will field the youngest player, 14-year-old Ashleigh Simon, who was the leading amateur on the South African women's professional circuit. Seventeen-year-old Tanica Van As is the reigning national strokeplay and matchplay champion.

The British team, all in their 20s, includes two Scots, two from Wales and one Englishwoman, Shelley McKevitt, who won the British strokeplay championship this year.

The format has teams of five playing a round-robin of two foursomes in the morning and four singles in the afternoon. New Zealand play Canada on Tuesday, Australia on Thursday, Great Britain on Friday and South Africa on Saturday. They have a bye on Wednesday. Play starts at 8am each day.

The 5518m, par-72 Remuera course has previously hosted the New Zealand Open and the men's amateur championship.

The New Zealand team warmed up for the Commonwealth tournament at the North Harbour strokeplay on Sunday and Monday.

The title was won by the Auckland matchplay champion, Akane Iijima, a Japanese who is playing at Pakuranga while preparing for qualification on the Japanese professional tour.

She finished six shots ahead of Newbrook. Nicholson was four shots further back. Tate had a poor start on her home course but shot 70 on the second day.

Josh Carmichael (Pupuke) won the men's title by seven shots from Sangho Lee (North Shore). It was the 22-year-old North Harbour No. 1's first 72-hole victory.

Highlights were a final round 64 by masters representative Tony Treen (Muriwai) and a hole in one by 15-year-old Sun Kim (Pupuke).