Monty Brown, 16, a pupil at Mount Aspiring College (MAC), visited the New Zealand Open on Saturday, March 3, and decided to ‘‘have a go’’ at the Craigs Investment Partners’ Closest To The Pin charity fundraiser.
Spectators had a shot at winning $5000 each day by competing in the competition on the 125m 14th hole on the Remarkables course at Millbrook Resort.
Monty’s shot was 83cm from the pin all day, until someone else beat him to the prize in the last 10 minutes.
His sportsmanship and grace in admitting defeat won the hearts of the local Craigs Investment Partners Queenstown team who later decided to support Monty’s endeavours by sponsoring a new set of golf clubs.
Craigs Investment Partner adviser Paul Gardner approached golf supplier Ping through the local Wanaka Golf Club and they agreed to join forces with Craigs Investment Partners in presenting Monty with a one-time prize — a set of Ping clubs to the value of $5000.
“Craigs Investment Partners are proud to be involved with the New Zealand Open Tournament and to leverage golf for good,” Mr Gardner said.
“Through the two initiatives, ‘‘Closest to Pin’’ and ‘‘Birdies for Charity’’, we raised $25,000 for two well-deserving charities, CureKids and the Wakatipu Community Foundation, which is a fantastic result.
“Craigs also wants to recognise upand-coming young Kiwi golfers in their journey to the top. Supporting Monty is one way we can do this given his achievement and attitude on the day.”
Monty said he was surprised and delighted to receive the clubs.
“I’m blown away by the generosity of the team at Craigs, Wanaka Golf Club and Ping in gifting a fantastic set of clubs.”
“When I received my new clubs, I immediately went off to play a round, and I’ve been practising in the living room too.”
With a previous putting competition win, and a great attitude, Monty is proving to be a promising young golfer under guidance from coaches Kyle and Alan of Wanaka Golf Club and Alan Rose Golf.
“I’ve been playing for two years, and I really want to get my handicap down to single figures so this will help me get there.’’
