Hat-trick of New Zealand golf croquet title for Franks

December 16, 2024

Canterbury’s Levi Franks again won the singles title at the New Zealand under-21 golf croquet championships in Palmerston North.Warwick Smith / Manawatū Standard

Canterbury’s Levi Franks won the singles title for the third year in-a-row at the New Zealand under-21 golf croquet championships in Palmerston North.

The five-day tournament at the Rose Gardens croquet lawns wrapped up on Sunday.

It started with two days of doubles, followed by three days of singles.

Top seed Franks, beat fifth seed Jessica Bullen of Wellington 7-4, 7-1 in the best-of-three final.

Bullen had upset second seed and last season’s runner-up Josh Winter, also from Canterbury, in their semifinal.

Currently ranked fifth in the world for under-21 players, Franks, Bullen and two of the other participants Callum McKinnon (Wellington and Rose Gardens) and Mattie Clarkson (Counties Manukau) were set to attend the world under-21 golf croquet championships in Sarasota, Florida in April.

The plate event for players who didn’t qualify for the top eight was won by another Canterbury player, Patrick Conolly ahead of Clarkson.

Patrick Conolly won the plate event.Warwick Smith / Manawatū Standard

The doubles competition was won by the Paraparaumu brother and sister combination of Nathan and Jessica Bullen, in Nathan’s last season as an under-21 player.

James and Myles Duggan from Canterbury finished runner-up, with Franks and Conolly third.

There were five pairs in the doubles competition and 12 players in the singles, with competitors coming from Counties Manukau, South Taranaki, Wellington, Canterbury, Southland and host association Manawatū-Whanganui.