Cecilia Cho wins Australia amateur strokeplay

New Zealand golfer Cecilia Cho, believed to be the youngest player to win the Australian strokeplay title, now turns her attention to the battle for the amateur championship honours in Perth.

The Auckland 15-year-old produced a super-steady even par 72 in the final round yesterday for a strokeplay tournament card of 287.

It enabled her to wipe out a two-shot overnight deficit and finish one stroke ahead of Australian Breanna Elliott and Taiwan's Liu Yi-Chen.

In her first appearance for New Zealand since gaining citizenship, the Korean-born Cho now has the chance to become the first New Zealander to win both the Australian strokeplay and amateur titles when the matchplay phase begins tomorrow.

"It's pretty exciting to win because it's my first time in Australia," Cho said. "When I came over I thought I could win but I didn't think about it too much. Given it's my first time, it was more about the experience.

"I thought I would probably have to shoot about 5-under to win. I didn't shoot that so I didn't think I would win.

"I was consistent enough. I didn't really hole many putts. I just kept on making pars."

Cho is the third New Zealander to win the Australian strokeplay honours following Sarah Nicholson in 2006 and Lynnette Brooky in 1993.

Only one New Zealander has captured the Australian amateur title in Jan Higgins 21 years ago, also in Western Australia.

Should she manage to work her way through five elimination rounds of matchplay, Cho would become joint holder of both the Australian and New Zealand amateur crowns, a feat no other New Zealander has achieved.

Cho is joined by fellow New Zealand representatives Zoe Brake and Caroline Bon, sixth and 14th respectively in the strokeplay, as qualifiers for the matchplay.

Leading scores (Australian unless stated):-

287 - Cecilia Cho (NZ) 74 69 72 72
288 - Yi Chen Liu (Taiwan) 71 72 72 73, Breanna Elliott 75 70 70 73
289 - Justine Lee 77 67 69 76
291 - Jessica Speechley 75 72 76 68

Also

294 - Hsuan Yu Yao (Taiwan) 74 73 73 74, Zoe Brake (NZ) 77 69 72 76
298 - Caroline Bon (NZ) 71 73 74 80
330 - Lisa Wright (NZ) 79 80 85 86.

- NZPA