Moore wins Australian junior amateur title
- NZ Sports Wire
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
Golf New Zealand Academy member Cooper Moore has triumphed in a three-hole playoff to win the Australian Junior Boys Amateur championship at Indooroopilly Golf Club in Brisbane.
The New Zealand amateur champion began the fourth round six shots back of the lead, carding a four-under 68 with five birdies on Friday.
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Dubbo Golf Club’s Cooper Giddings emerged as his rival for the title in playing his final 10 holes in seven-under, after making eagle on the 16th and birdies on the 17th and 18th to post a 65 and five-under for the tournament.
Moore was playing four groups behind and joined Giddings at five-under after sinking an 18-foot birdie putt on the par-three 17th before leaving his birdie putt just short on the closing hole, sending the tournament to a playoff.
After swapping pars through the first two playoff holes, Moore appeared to have handed control to Giddings when he landed his approach shot on the third hole in the right greenside bunker.
As Giddings lined up his birdie putt, Moore played his bunker shot immaculately, with the ball bouncing just once to then roll into the hole and send the Kiwi supporters on the bank into raucous cheers.
Moore said he knew he needed to pull out something special after putting his second shot into the sand.
“Heading back to the tee for that third time, it was getting to the point where I just wanted to be done, get it over and done with.
“Then I hit my approach shot into the short-side bunker and I was like, it’s cooked there. I was just like, I need something special to extend the playoff because I was still expecting him to at least hole it or two-putt.
“Then when I holed it, it was like wow. Yeah, it was quite surprising.”
Moore now joins the DP World Tour’s Daniel Hillier as the only pair to have won the Australian Junior Boys and New Zealand Amateur crowns and has his name on the same trophy as the likes of Jason Day, Adam Scott and Grant Waite.
Gregg Thorpe, Golf New Zealand general manager of high performance and talent development, said he was not only proud of Moore’s win but of how the entire squad handled themselves against stern international competitors.
“It’s a great win for Cooper; it took a very special shot at a crucial time, which makes it all the more impressive.
“But just as importantly, all the squad members will be better off for the experience playing on a superb golf course that required good game management against some tough international competition.”
In the girls championship, Juwon Kim and Emma Zheng represented New Zealand with aplomb, finishing tied for sixth and eighth, respectively, as Raegan Denton took the title on the first extra hole.
Victoria Xin from Maungakiekie took out a top-30 finish with her T28 placing.