The Clubroom Canterbury Match Play Championship concluded at Avondale Golf Club in Christchurch, New Zealand, on 26 October 2026, with 97 entrants and five titles decided. The headline belonged to Ricky Kang of Harewood Golf Club, who added the men's match play crown to the Canterbury Stroke Play title he captured in February. According to the organising body, Canterbury Golf, Kang is only the ninth golfer to win both titles in the same calendar year, and the first since 2015.
Kang finishes a landmark double
Kang beat Etienne Collier of Avondale 5&4 in the men's championship final. In match play, that means he was five holes ahead with four left to play, so the contest ended early. It is a hole-by-hole margin, not a score in strokes or strokes under par.
The third seed had a more demanding route than the final margin suggests. He opened with a 5&4 win against Yuhan (Uny) Shao, beat Ethan Lam 2&1 in the quarterfinals and survived a 1-up semifinal against Tim Graham. Collier had earlier eliminated the home club's leading qualifier, Nash de Klerk, 2 up.
The knockout draw produced further drama. Alfie Bell and Harry MacNeill fought through 26 holes before Bell prevailed on the eighth extra hole in their opening match. Bell then ended defending champion Sam McGill's quest for a third consecutive title, winning their quarterfinal 1 up. The long-standing men's championship was first contested in 1906, making Kang's modern double particularly notable.
Maddie May comes through tight women's matches
Maddie May of Clearwater Golf Club won the women's title by beating Alice Fry of Russley 2&1. May entered the week with the best handicap index in the women's field but was only seventh seed after the stroke-play qualifier. She advanced past Subin Bae 3&2 and Ziyi (Annie) Wang 2 up, then edged Vanessa Lim 1 up in the semifinal.
Lim had previously stopped 2025 champion Junie Chang in the quarterfinals, 3&2. Fry's semifinal against Nutcha Sirawattanakul went to the 20th hole, underlining how close the women's draw remained until the final day. May and Fry ultimately contested the championship match rather than either of last year's finalists.
Masters, Under-19 and consolation champions
In the men's Masters division, Scott Manyweathers (Harewood) claimed a second Canterbury Match Play title, adding to his 2018 success by beating David Grater (Clearwater) 7&6 in the final. Manyweathers had eliminated Kieran Sharvin 2&1 in the semifinal; Grater had knocked out defending Masters champion James Howard 1 up.
In the boys' under-19 championship, James Mordaunt (Clearwater) beat Kohl Thompson-Small (Hororata) 3&2. Mordaunt had dispatched defending champion Darren Kung by the same margin in the semifinal. Thompson-Small, who led qualifying with a one-under-par 69, needed an extra hole to beat Shunsuke Nakamura in his semifinal.
The extra men's Division 2 bracket gave players who missed the top 16 a second path to a title. Sebastian May (Clearwater), who fell one stroke short of the main championship cut in qualifying, beat David Cassidy (Avondale) 7&6 to complete a successful week for the Clearwater club.
Why this regional championship matters
Saturday's 18-hole stroke-play qualifying established the seeds for the four principal match-play draws, with knockout matches on Sunday and Monday and an additional men's consolation bracket. None of the four defending primary-division champions reached a final. Clearwater members won three divisions, while Harewood members won two.
The event counts towards the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) and was the opening Canterbury Golf Order of Merit event of the 2026/27 season. Division winners were also offered a trip to the NZ PGA Championship at Paraparaumu Beach Golf Club, including a place in the pre-event Pro-Am — a meaningful link between regional amateur competition and a higher-profile golf week.
Confirmed finals: Kang def. Collier 5&4; Maddie May def. Fry 2&1; Manyweathers def. Grater 7&6; Mordaunt def. Thompson-Small 3&2; Sebastian May def. Cassidy 7&6.
Source: Canterbury Golf's official results report, with the tournament dates and format confirmed against the organiser's 21 October preview.
