“I felt I still had a chance and needed to be patient,” he said.
His back nine run was faultless, remaining bogey-free with four birdies, including birdies on 17 and 18 that would secure him the title in emphatic fashion as the rain descended on the HKGC’s Old Course.
Speaking after his round, Moore said he tried to recall his previous back nine form at the tournament and avoid making high numbers.
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“I made bogey on 9 and was five back, there was quite a bit there [to make up] but I’ve played some of my best golf all week on the back nine, found myself in contention on the 18th tee and just went with it.
“Didn’t really change too much with my game plan just middle of the green most of the time, just trying to avoid trouble hoping that the weather may come in and the other guys may struggle a bit.”
He said a slight internal battle was required after a shaky start to the final round.
“I didn’t get off to the best start, missed a few short putts on one and two then made triple on four and I was a bit like ‘Ah need to sort of wake up a bit’ but then found myself… guess it came down to that back nine.”
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On the final hole of the tournament, Moore had about 130m to the flag with his second shot.
He took his pitching wedge, threw a dart to four feet and rolled in the birdie putt to finish at 9-under for the tournament and win by two strokes.
“It was dead at the pin; I was a bit blocked out by the trees on the left. I hit a little drawing pitching wedge and yeah, it looked perfect the whole way.”
Fellow Golf New Zealand Academy member Emma Zheng placed 16th at the APGC Junior Championships in a highly competitive field and difficult conditions.
Zheng helped New Zealand take 9th place in the Mixed Teams division.
