Ieremia holds on for Charles Tour crown
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Denzel Ieremia has claimed the Charles Tour's Race to Tieke title but the Hamilton-raised Asian Tour regular had to work for every shot of his two-stroke victory.
What looked set to be a procession after rounds of 64 and 63 threatened to turn the final day at Tieke Golf Estate, near Hamilton, into something far more competitive, with a somewhat wobbly front nine and a few raindrops ensuring the chasing pack had their say.
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Ieremia's victory over the invitation-only field was earned the hard way - exactly how those in the gallery at Tieke would want a season-ender to unfold.
Hot and still conditions greeted New Zealand's leading professionals and amateurs for the 54-hole finale on Wednesday, with Tieke presented in pristine condition. Ieremia wasted no time stamping his authority, compiling five birdies and an eagle in a polished seven-under 64 to lead by one.
Jayden Ford, Golf New Zealand Academy member Yuki Miya, Mako Thompson and Tyler Wood all signed for six-under rounds to stay in touch.
The breeze picked up slightly for round two but scoring remained sharp. Ieremia opened with three straight birdies to stretch clear before a bogey at the par-three 10th momentarily halted momentum.
His response was four consecutive birdies to post an eight-under 63 and build a commanding six-shot cushion. Ford and Dominic Barson kept the pressure on, the latter producing one of the shots of the day with a near-perfect approach at the ninth to inside four feet to set up birdie.
Charles Tour Order of Merit winner Josh Geary reminded everyone why he is never out of the equation, rebounding from an early blemish with six birdies in 10 holes.
Overcast skies and muggy air set the scene for the final 18 holes following overnight rain. Barson had suggested his best chance of beating Ieremia was to "play 14 holes" and see where the pressure landed - a fair summation given the leaders six-shot buffer on a course he knew intimately from his junior days.
The leader's front nine of two-over cracked the door open. Bateman applied steady pressure with a two-under outward nine, while Tyler Hodge, Kerry Mountcastle and Geary advanced ominously.
Geary's charge was particularly fierce - seven back-nine birdies propelled him to the clubhouse lead at 11-under. Former PGA Tour player Tim Wilkinson also entered the frame, his four-under 67 earning a place at the 105th New Zealand Open at Millbrook Resort as the leading non-exempt player.
Ieremia's turn for home wavered across a three-hole stretch of double bogey, birdie, bogey, allowing Bateman to close within one and it was not until the driveable par-four 16th that the tournament ultimately turned.
Having battled his driver for much of the afternoon, Ieremia chose aggression and delivered a frozen rope onto the green, setting up an eagle chance he duly converted. Bateman, short-sided and faced with a delicate lie, could only salvage bogey.
On the decisive 16th hole, Ieremia credited Bateman for pushing him to play his best golf.
“It was a good tee shot, Harry played well all day and put a lot of heat on me. To be honest I wasn’t expecting to have that much heat on me because I was so far ahead so it was a bit of a shock.
“I made a pretty bad bogey on 15 but I wasn’t too fazed by it, I knew I was still up by one. With 16 and 18 left I figured there were good birdie opportunities so to stand on 16, I’ve been using this mini-driver for the last month. It’s a pretty good one, it’ll stay in the bag.”
A steady par at 17 restored order. With a two-shot cushion on the 18th tee, Ieremia slid a birdie attempt across the edge before tapping in for par, sealing a hard-fought victory and closing out the Charles Tour season in fitting fashion.
To do it in front of a home track gallery made it all the more sweeter, Ieremia said.
“It’s cool man, winning’s good. I haven’t done it for a while so it’s always good to win but to win at home is even nicer.”
Geary's final-round 64 saw him claim second place at 11-under, just two strokes adrift of the champion. Wilkinson and Bateman shared third at 10-under, Wilkinson's closing 67 securing his spot at Millbrook as the leading non-exempt player.
Kerry Mountcastle and Hodge finished in a tie for fifth at nine-under after matching final rounds of 66, while Wood and Ford joined them on that mark. Mako Thompson and Michael Hendry rounded out the top-10 at eight-under, both posting solid finishes to cap their campaigns.
Cooper Moore and Miya were tied for 11th at seven-under, both showing the quality that has them marked as players to watch heading into the new season.