Five Premier interclub titles were decided at Clearwater Golf Club on Sunday at the Lamb & Hayward 2026 Interclub Finals Day. Russley and Christchurch each won two trophies, and Rangiora claimed the fifth.
Christchurch won the Woodward Cup and the Thompson MacDonald Trophy. Russley won the Pollock Cup for a third successive year and completed a strong run through the Blank Cup play-offs. Rangiora won the Simon Cup for the first time in 70 years.
Woodward Cup: Christchurch finish the job
Christchurch topped the Woodward Cup round robin, and they confirmed their status as the competition’s best side by winning the final.
In the morning they were dominant against Russley, winning 6.5–1.5 with six match wins, including Tim Leonard (4&3), Uny Shao (4&2) and Seb May (3&2). Templeton were just as convincing in the other semi-final, beating hosts Clearwater 6–2. Phil Bungard (5&3) led the way, and Taylor Hosking, Dean Harvey, Cam Thomassen, David Zohrab and William Robb also won.
The final was more closely fought. Christchurch’s top three of Seb May (2&1), Thomas Clayson (5&4) and Mika MacDonald (2&1) gave them an early lead. Templeton hit back through Phil Bungard (4&3), Cam Thomassen (4&2) and William Robb (3&2). Wins from Tim Leonard (3&2) and Ethan Lam (1 up) secured a 5–3 victory and the Woodward Cup for Christchurch. Seb May, Tim Leonard and Ethan Lam each won both of their matches on the day.
The win is Christchurch’s 29th Woodward Cup title. That draws them level with Russley at the top of the all-time honours list for Canterbury’s premier men’s interclub trophy.
There was a special moment at the prizegiving. Rosemary MacKinnon, granddaughter of Louis Adam Woodward, who donated the Woodward Cup when it was first played for in 1938, attended to present the trophy to Christchurch captain Tim Leonard. Louis Woodward was himself a Christchurch Golf Club member, which made it a fitting moment to see the cup he gifted handed to his own club’s team by his granddaughter.
Pollock Cup: Three in a row for Russley
Russley completed an unbeaten season in the top women’s grade, beating Christchurch 5–1 to win the Pollock Cup for the third successive year, after their titles in 2024 and 2025.
Russley won five of the six matches, all by comfortable margins. Junie Chang, Vanessa Lim and Alice Fry each won 5&4, Olive Guan won 4&3, and Nutcha Sirawattanakul recorded the biggest win of the final, 7&5. Subin Bae won Christchurch’s only point with a 5&3 win.
Alice Fry and Nutcha Sirawattanakul have been at the heart of Russley’s success all season, and they shared the Merle Barley Salver as the competition’s MVPs for 2026.
The title caps a dominant season for Russley, who went through the round robin without a loss before winning the final. It extends a run that has made them the standout side in Canterbury women’s interclub golf.
Blank Cup: From bottom of the table to champions
Russley’s Blank Cup title completes one of the great turnarounds in recent interclub golf. After five rounds of the round robin, they were sitting at the bottom of the table. Across the final four rounds, played over the double round days on 20 September and 4 October, they won three matches and tied the other to climb into the top four and claim a semi-final place.
They carried that momentum all the way to the trophy. In the morning semi-final they faced Christchurch, who had won all nine regular-season matches. Russley won 4.5–3.5 in a match that could have gone either way. Joseph Larson (4&2), Xavier Bell (2 up), Seiji Dimitrov (1 up) and Andrew Lapslie (4&3) won for Russley, and Josh Vester halved his match. In the other semi, Coringa beat Harewood 5–3, with Gus Borren’s 8&6 win the standout result.
Russley then beat Coringa 5.5–2.5 in the final. Andrew Lapslie, William Hardcastle and Josh Vester all won 3&2, Ryan Mordaunt won 4&3 and Seiji Dimitrov won 4&2, while Joseph Larson halved his match. Mike Boshoff (5&3) and Seok Yong Park (3&2) won Coringa’s points. Lapslie, Dimitrov and Vester each finished the day unbeaten across both matches.
Simon Cup: Rangiora end a 70-year wait
Rangiora won the Simon Cup with a 5–3 win over Clearwater, completing a play-off run that began from third place in the round robin. It is Rangiora’s first Simon Cup title since they won the inaugural competition in 1956.
The final was close for much of the afternoon. Colin Sloss and Sam Flavell halved their match, as did Paul Neilson and Steve Williams. Clearwater won two big points through Tony Falloon (4&3) and Ammar Vithodawala (6&5). Rangiora won four matches: Dan Gread (1 up), Russell Kirk (3&2), Dean Hikaka (3&2) and Craig Dickinson (6&4). Gread’s narrow 1 up win over Gavin O’Hara at the top of the order proved crucial.
Thompson MacDonald Trophy: Christchurch end Amberley’s dream run
Christchurch won the Thompson MacDonald Trophy 5–1 over Amberley, ending a superb first season for the Amberley team.
Christchurch won five of the six matches. Gary Gillard won 9&7 and Adam Riley won 7&6, and Jonty Leech (3&1), Andrew Forgesson (3&2) and Jordan Coffin (2&1) also won. Ron McPhail won Amberley’s point with a 1 up win over Harrison Lund. Amberley can take a lot of pride from their season after topping Section 1 and reaching the final in their first year in the competition.
2026 Interclub Champions
| Competition | Champion | Runner-up | Final score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Woodward Cup | Christchurch | Templeton | 5 – 3 |
| Pollock Cup | Russley | Christchurch | 5 – 1 |
| Blank Cup | Russley | Coringa | 5.5 – 2.5 |
| Simon Cup | Rangiora | Clearwater | 5 – 3 |
| Thompson MacDonald Trophy | Christchurch | Amberley | 5 – 1 |
Thank you
Congratulations to all of this year’s champions, and to every team, manager and player who took part in the 2026 interclub season. Canterbury Golf thanks Clearwater Golf Club for hosting an excellent Finals Day, and the competition convenors for their work throughout the season. We also acknowledge our principal partner, Lamb & Hayward, and thank them for their ongoing support of Finals Day and all of our interclub competitions.
