Macleans College crowned Auckland golf champions
Posted on May 08, 2026
The sport of golf continues to grow in popularity at Macleans College, with strong student interest in school representation at competitive level.
More than 20 students expressed interest in the Auckland Secondary Schools Nine-Hole Golf Competition. The high level of participation reflects the depth of talent and the increasing profile of the sport at the school.
Due to limited access to golf courses in Auckland on Monday afternoons, only three Macleans College teams were able to enter the competition.
Teams Two and Three finished mid-table at the end of the season. Both teams gained valuable competitive experience and developed consistency throughout the year.
The Premier team entered the final round with three wins and one loss. This placed them third on the points table. Their final pool match against undefeated King’s College effectively became a quarter-final. A place in the semi-finals required a win by seven or more strokes. This would also secure qualification for the New Zealand Secondary Schools Golf Championship.
The team delivered under pressure.
Rory Gillion (Hillary House), who had missed the previous two matches as he worked to regain form, produced a strong performance. He recorded an impressive two-under-par round over nine holes. Archie Thompson (Batten), Cherry Lee (Batten) and Wianru Oosthuizen (Kupe) provided strong support. Macleans College defeated King’s College by seven strokes and secured a semi-final place.
The semi-final against Rangitoto College, champions of the North Harbour competition, was held at Pupuke Golf Club. Macleans College faced an early setback when co-captain Archie was unavailable due to camp commitments. Despite this, the team showed resilience and determination. They secured a narrow one-stroke victory. Co-captain Cherry led the team with the best score of the round.
The final against Auckland Grammar School was expected to be a close contest. Auckland Grammar School had previously defeated Macleans College by six strokes in pool play and entered the match as favourites.
At the 12 pm tee-off, Archie started strongly. He drove safely down the right side of the fairway on the opening par five. He then signalled confidence to his teammates, indicating belief in victory. Archie produced an outstanding performance, finishing seven-under-par over 18 holes.
Cherry delivered another composed round, finishing four-under-par. Rory contributed a steady four-over-par performance. Wianru showed determination in difficult conditions and gained valuable experience.
Macleans College defeated Auckland Grammar School by seven strokes to once again be crowned Auckland Secondary Schools Golf Champions.
The team will travel to Christchurch at the end of August to compete in the New Zealand Secondary Schools Golf Championship.
2026 teams
Premier Team
- Archie Thompson (co-captain)
- Cherry Lee (co-captain)
- Rory Gillion
- Wianru Oosthuizen
- Emma Lyu (Mansfield)
Team 2
- Denny Deng (Mansfield)
- Heidi Lee (Batten)
- Lucas Peng (Upham)
- Lucas Urlich (Te Kanawa)
- Mylan Zou (Rutherford)
- Nolan Zou (Rutherford)
Team 3
- Siobhan Fan (Rutherford)
- Andrew Jin (Kupe)
- Chris Liu (Te Kanawa)
- Riley MacGillivray (Mansfield)
- Coben McBride (Hillary)