Wilkinson beats experienced field at Tauranga Open
Experienced New Zealand golf pro Tim Wilkinson has capped a commanding tournament with a seven-shot victory at the 20th Tauranga Open, closing a fouand r-under 66 to finish at 20-under.
Wilkinson began the final day with a two-shot advantage and ultimately pulled clear of the field, completing rounds of 63, 66, 65 and 66 for a 260 total.
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Defending champion Josh Geary and Kerry Mountcastle shared second at 13-under, while South Africa’s Nash de Klerk secured leading amateur honours after finishing in a tie for fourth.
Despite the eventual margin of victory, Wilkinson’s final round was far from straightforward.
A birdie at the second got him moving before consecutive bogeys at the fourth and fifth brought the chasing pack closer.
An eagle at the par-five sixth immediately repaired the damage, followed by another birdie at the eighth.
A double bogey at the par-three ninth then saw Wilkinson make the turn in even-par 35 and ensured there was still work to do over the closing nine.
In reply Wilkinson played the back nine in a bogey-free four-under 31, making consecutive birdies at the 12th and 13th before adding another at 16.
A final birdie at the 18th took Wilkinson to exactly 20-under and put the finishing touch on a week in which he had been at the sharp end of the leaderboard from the opening round.
Wilkinson shared the first-round lead following a seven-under 63, remained one shot off the pace through 36 holes and moved two clear with a third-round 65 before completing the job on Sunday.
Behind Wilkinson, Geary produced a two-under 68 to climb into a share of second and complete a strong title defence at 13-under.
Mountcastle joined him after a final-round 71, having begun the day just two shots behind Wilkinson following rounds of 65, 66 and 65 across the opening three days.
Jake Meenhorst closed with a three-under 67 to finish in a share of fourth at 10-under alongside de Klerk and Douglas Holloway.
Holloway had shared the opening-round lead with Wilkinson and led through 36 holes before rounds of 71 over the weekend saw him finish at 10-under.
James Hydes finished seventh at nine-under following a closing 68, while Zachary May made one of the biggest moves on Sunday with a six-under 64 to climb seven places and finish eighth at eight-under.
Tyler Wood also finished strongly, carding a five-under 65 to reach seven-under and take ninth, with Dominic Brettkelly rounding out the top 10 at six-under.
De Klerk claimed the men’s amateur honours after an impressive week against the professional field.
The South African completed rounds of 67, 65, 68 and 70 for a 10-under total of 270, finishing in a share of fourth overall.
In the women’s amateur field, Chloe So completed a seven-shot victory after a closing four-over 76.
So began the final round with a three-shot advantage and finished the championship at 11-over following rounds of 75, 75, 73 and 76.
Yeowon Yoon finished runner-up at 18-over after a final-round 80, while Sophie Yu climbed into third with a closing 76 to finish at 22-over.
So had shared the lead through 36 holes before taking control with a one-over 73 on Saturday and extending her advantage over the final round.
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