The 2023 Pollock Cup Final was played at Clearwater Golf Club yesterday with the top seeds from the regular season Waimairi Beach taking on 2nd seed Christchurch Golf Club.
The beachside club Waimairi had enjoyed a very strong season with a team containing a good blend of top young players such as Aroha Minhinnick, Zaria Bourne, and Deanna Matthews alongside experienced heads such as Angela Gerken and Lyn Robertson and Fetoni Humm which served them well throughout the regular season where they went 5 from 5 before overcoming Russley in a tight fixture in the semi’s. Hopes were high then for the team looking to secure their first Pollock Cup title since 2011. Christchurch meanwhile were looking to defend their title and complete the threepeat after wins in the 2021 and 2022 seasons. They too boasted a strong and experienced lineup with the likes of Monica Tulisi, Catherine Palmer, and Mel Newburn in the lineup, a big loss on the day however was Canterbury Representative Olive Tapu who was away representing Samoa in the Pacific Games tournament in the Solomon Islands.
The scene was set then for a bumper final, which was previewed on Newstalk ZB the day beforehand, which you can listen to – HERE.
The final itself played out as expected with many tight matches throughout the lineups. The contest at the bottom of the order was the widest of margins with Lyn Roberston getting Waimairi Beach off to the perfect start overcoming Ina Lee-Hall 7/6 in a dominant performance backing up her joint Merle Barley salver effort during the season. The battle of the players playing in the 5th spot was a far tighter contest, one in which Rachel Cox of Christchurch and Pam Chapman of Waimairi were unable to be separated halving their contest. Next up Waimairi youngster Zaria Bourne who has made her Canterbury women’s senior debut this season took on the experienced Mel Newburn. That match again went the full distance, but it was Bourne who managed to triumph on the last winning 1up. Next up it was Aorangi Women’s team representative Angela Gerken facing Nicola Webb in the battle of the threes, following a similar theme this match again went very close to going the distance finishing on the 17th where Gerken was able to prevail 2/1 giving Waimairi a further point. The second to last match saw former Canterbury captain Catherine Palmer, who had just won the Women’s Champion of Champion title just 2 weeks earlier take on the other joint Merle Barley salver winner Deanna Matthews. The two quality players could not be separated with the match finishing on the 18th A/S. Finally, it was the battle of the ones with Christchurch’s Monica Tulisi and Waimairi’s Aroha Minhinnick facing off. It was the current Canterbury representative Minhinnick who rounded off a great day for the seaside club winning 2/1 to round out a 5-1 team victory for Waimairi Beach. A final score that sounds a lot wider than the reality given the closeness of many of the games, but a strong victory nonetheless.
The full results can be viewed – HERE.
Pictured above, left to right: Ann Glading (Manager), Lyn Robertson, Pam Chapman, Deanna Matthews, Zaria Bourne, Angela Gerken and Aroha Minhinnick. (Absent Fetoni Humm)
