The annual Toyota Junior Golf World Cup was recently contested at Chukyo Golf Club in Nagoya, Japan. The Australian team of Daniel Nisbet, Brendan Smith, Bryden Macpherson and Aidan Bae finished in third place for the second consecutive year with a team total of 21-under par. Scandanavian powerhouse Norway was the runaway winner, finishing with a team total of 27-under for the four rounds while Scandanavian neighbours Sweden came in second place at 24-under. The Australian team captained by Les Browne and coached by Peter Knight started slowly with an even-par first day score of 213 and a four-under second day score of 209. The final two days saw Australia really lift with scores of 205 and 204 (eight and nine-under respectively). Srixon Australian Amateur Champion Anders Kristiansen of Norway took individual honours alongside American Bud Cauley who also finished at 12-under. The best of the Australians was Brendan Smith at seven-under in equal sixth place while Daniel Nisbet posted four-under, Bryden Macpherson one-over and Aidan Bae three-over. Chukyo Golf Club is a picturesque course in very hilly country. Most of the holes are bounded by steep hills or sharp drop-offs, adding to both the difficulty and spectacle. The greens had tricky subtle breaks but rolled very truly with good putts holding their lines well. The rounds of the tournament from Australians were Brendan s final round of shot 65 (six-under) and Bryden&aposs second round of 66 (five-under). Brendan&aposs 65 was the equal lowest of the week which can be attributed to his exceptional ball-striking (he hit 66 of the 72 greens for the week). This is a tremendous achievement which is seldom equalled even at Tour level. The qualifying rules of the tournament for 2009 mean that only Norway as the defending champion is an automatic qualifier for 2009. The Oceanic qualifying region includes New Zealand and Australia with the winner of the Clare Higson Trophy (Junior Boys&apos) section of the Trans Tasman Cup heading to Japan for the 2009 event.
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