Macleans College secures national golf finals spot
Posted on May 09, 2025
Macleans College’s golf programme continues to deliver strong results across multiple levels of competition.
This season featured a mix of achievements, promising performances and valuable experience gained by both established players and emerging talent. From regional qualifiers to individual honours, Macleans College golfers demonstrated skill, resilience and sportsmanship.
Macleans College entered three teams into the College Sport nine-hole competition. Matches were held at various golf courses around Auckland. The format included round-robin qualifying rounds, with the top two teams from the Auckland and North Harbour divisions advancing to the semi-finals.
The Premier team - Cherry Lee (captain) (Batten House), Samuel Ding (Upham), Archie Thompson (Batten), Rory Gillion (Hillary) and Lucas Peng (Upham) - delivered a strong performance. With four wins and one loss, they topped the Auckland division. In the semi-final against Pinehurst School, the team competed without their top player, who was sidelined due to a back injury. Despite their efforts, they were narrowly defeated.
Macleans College Team 2, made up of Leo Isobe (captain) (Kupe), Wianru Oosthuizen (Kupe), Nolan Zou (Rutherford), Katherine Wang (Mansfield) and Heidi Lee (Batten), had mixed results and finished mid-table.
Macleans College Team 3 competed in the Stableford division. The team - Lucas Urlich (captain) (Te Kanawa), Chris Robert (Snell), Mylan Zou (Rutherford), Riley MacGillivray and Celine Moon (Mansfield) - also experienced a mixed season, gaining valuable match play experience.
Macleans College has qualified for the National Secondary Schools Golf Finals every year since 2017. In that time, the school has won the national title three times - more than any other secondary school. By finishing first in the Auckland division, the Premier team has earnt a place in the 2025 national finals, scheduled for August in Wellington. This event brings together the top teams from districts across New Zealand.
Eleven Macleans College golfers also took part in the Auckland Secondary Schools Stroke Play Competition. The event was held over two days - first at Windross Farm Golf Course, then at Snells Beach Golf Club. Cherry Lee delivered an outstanding performance, shooting even par on day one and six under par on day two. She won the girls’ division by three strokes.
Beyond the inter school competitions, Macleans College also ran an internal Stableford series for enthusiastic golfers. Matches were held on Monday afternoons, mainly at Whitford Park Golf Club. This group included Max Li (Batten), Andrew Jin (Kupe), Karen Isobe (Kupe), Aliya Witchalls (Kupe) and Coben McBride (Hillary).
