NZ duo win Denarau classic

Kiwi pairs Jo Kent and Sonia Read won the Denarau Women’s Golf Classic Trophy at the Fiji Golf International at the Denarau Golf Course over the weekend.

The Rangiora Golf Club duo produced a strong performance to claim the annual event title.

“We have been coming here since 2012,” Kent said.

“Anyone coming in the last 10 years knows Denise runs great tournaments.

“The Marriott, Sheraton and the course have been great. It has been awesome and we will try to be here for the next 15 years,” Kent said.

The mixed pairs title went to Lena Houng-Lee (Titirangi, NZ) and Philip Houng-Lee.

The pair, regular participants in the Fiji Villa Challenge, won the title by 12 points.

“What a wonderful week it has been, meeting some of the people we have played with and met in previous years,” Philip said.

Runners-up were Craig and Joanne McDonald from New Plymouth Golf Club.

In the men’s category was won by Craig Dudson (Coromandel, NZ) and Kevin Petersen (Millbrook, NZ), who carded a combined score of 516.

Petersen said he was pleased to finally take part in the tournament after years of knowing the organisers.

“It’s wonderful to be here. I’ve known Denise and Kim for probably about 25 years from my Auckland days,” he said.

“They have both been great supporters of our club at Millbrook.

“It is an amazing event, the way they organise it, and Craig and I will certainly be part of the journey into the future.”

Tournament organiser Kim Buckley said the new format was introduced to recognise champions across different categories.

“Once we set up this new format of the tournament, we decided we would award two ladies, two men and a mixed prize for champions of the Fiji Golf International,” Buckley said.

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