Five Waikato golfers have been named in New Zealand Golf’s national academy this year – including [St Paul’s Old Collegian] Luke Toomey and Chantelle Cassidy in the top tier.
That duo are joined by Nick Coxon and Denzel Ieremia in the men’s Tier Two squad, while Brooke Hamilton has been included in the women’s Tier Two intake.
Riverside’s Toomey has maintained his place in the men’s Tier One squad, along with fellow 2014 members Joshua Munn, Tae Koh and Vaughan McCall. Blair Riordan was the only departing player after turning professional earlier this year, while James Beale (North Shore) has been added after strong showing last year.
Coxon (Riverside) and Ieremia (Hamilton) retained their Tier Two status after good displays over the past year, with Coxon in particular pushing hard to make the leap into the top flight.
Cambridge’s Cassidy has been elevated to the top women’s tier along with Pakuranga’s Wenyung Keh, joining Julianne Alvarez and Munchin Keh in the Tier One squad.
Hamilton (Maungakiekie/Hamilton) joins fellow New Zealand Junior girls team-mates Alanna Campbell and Amelia Garvey in the women’s Tier Two squad, while Waikato’s Hana-Rae Seifert has left the Academy programme after landing an internship with IMG in London.
The Tier One players are frontrunners for national selection, principally for events such as this month’s Queen Sirikit in Hong Kong and the Nomura Cup in Abu Dhabi in October. The Tier Two group have been selected with the 2016 World Amateur Teams programme in mind.
