Sensational round highlight of Macleans College victory in New Zealand Secondary Schools finals

The Macleans College Golf team, consisting of Jimmy Zheng (Hillary House), Henry Wang (Batten), Vivian Lu (Batten) and Connor Barker (Mansfield 2014 – 2018) won the New Zealand Secondary School Golf finals held in Palmerston North in September 2018.

That in itself is an excellent achievement but the stand out performance of the 36 hole event was Jimmy Zheng’s second round 12 under par 60, a score that is rarely achieved at any level of the sport and a record for the course.

Jimmy played the first nine holes in a very commendable three under par but from the tenth hole onwards he scored an eagle followed by seven birdies. This round enabled Jimmy to win the individual event and with consistent scoring from his colleagues the team achieved a comfortable six shot victory.

The team’s success was due in a great part to the consistent support and mentorship of Macleans College’s Golf manager, Mr Anand Rao. Mr Rao ensures the players have ample opportunity to practice their game before and after school but is also mindful that their school work cannot suffer as a result.

The culture nurtured by Mr Rao is helping young golfers in the community and is developing teams that can score competitively and win national titles. The members of the successful Macleans College team aspire to becoming professional golfers and playing in the major tournaments around the world.