Nick’s great form this year saw him selected to represent New Zealand in the Nomura Cup which was played at Yas Links Golf Club in Abu Dhabi.

The Nomura Cup is a biennial tournament designed to develop golf within the Asia Pacific region.  It is held every two years and was first held in the Philippines in 1963.

The Nomura Cup is a contest between 14 countries from the Asia Pacific region.  These include Australia, Bangladesh, Cool Islands, Guam, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Taiwan and Thailand.

Each team is made up of four male amateur players with the best three scores counting each day.  One round of golf is played each day for four days.  The total of the team scores for the four rounds will be the team’s score for the Championship.

Australia is the most successful team in Nomura Cup history winning the  title 10 times and claiming victory six of the past seven championships.  Japan is the second most successful team on right wins.  New Zealand has won the Nomura Cup once in 1995 when the Russelly Golf Club in Christchurch hosted the event.  New Zealand has finished runner up in the event six times.

The 27th Nomura Cup was hosted by the Emirates Golf Federation (EGF) at Yas Links Golf Club in Abu Dhabi under the guidance of EGF Chairman, H.E. Sheikh Fahim Bin Sultan Al Qasimi and the patronage of the Abu Dhabi Sports Council.

The Yas Links course is the first links golf course in the Middle East.  It was designed by Kyle Phillips whose name is synonymous with great Links Golf Course architecture around the globe.  He also designed The Gove in London, Dundonald in Troon, Scotland and Kingsbarn in St. Andrews, Scotland.

In Yas Links, Kyle Phillips has created a World Top 100 course from a barren desert site – it is rated the number one course in the Middle East and was voted in the Top 25 courses outside the United States by Golf Digest and was rated number 70 in the world by Golf Digest. 

   
The members of the New Zealand team were Nick Voke, Tae Koh (both from Manukau Golf Club in Auckland), Joshua Munn and Luke Toomey.  The team finished 5th at 13 under.  The joint winners were Japan and Chinese Taipei on 22 under.

Individually the players finished as follows:

Tae Koh finished in a tie for 6th at 9 under

Luke Toomey finished in a tie for 14th at 2 under

Nick finished in a tie for 16th at 1 under

Joshua Munn finished in a tie for 40th at 6 over

In Nick’s own words:

My week in Abu Dhabi was the first time I was able to slip on the silver fern and represent New Zealand in a teams’ event. It was the most amazing feeling.  Any individual ambition I had going into the week was immediately washed away – we really embraced the enormity and privilege that came with representing our country; it was truly a humbling experience. Just as the All Blacks did so well against the Springboks, we went out there to compete for each other, compete for our whanau and our countries rich tradition and history.

My compatriots for the week were Josh Munn, Tae Koh and Luke Toomey. Each one of them understands how to win on the international stage, all outstanding players but better yet – outstanding people. It was a pretty special moment for the Manukau Golf Club.  Tae and I are extremely proud members of the Manukau Golf Club and having half the team from there was pretty special. Tae and I are extremely thankful for all the members support that we have had over the years and we will strive to be the best we can be as a reflection of the great environment the Manukau Golf Club provided.

 Thank you New Zealand Golf for another opportunity to compete on the world stage and investing in my development.

This was my last event of the year; I am excited to get back into the great system at Iowa State University and work on my game this winter. I will be home for 3 weeks over the Christmas break so if anybody wants to have a game and catch up, I would love to do that!

Thanks again for all your support!