Golf: Valiant efforts from Otago trio

Brave efforts from three young Otago golfers might not have resulted in wins at the weekend, but the Trans Tasman Cup is New Zealand's after the US Kids Tour tournament at Moore Park in Sydney.

New Zealand won the tie 6½-5½ after losing the pro-kids event on the Friday by 8-4 in the Kiwis' first look at the course.

Kairangi Koni (7), of Dunedin, and Noah Novacek (8), of Queenstown, fought bravely over 18 holes against their Australian rivals, only to go down 2 and 1 on the final hole against a two-boy team which included Australian prodigy Christian Rees.

Kairangi's father, Dan Koni, said while the two boys were disappointed to lose, it was great for New Zealand to come out on top.

"We had so many wins in the other matches that overall New Zealand was on top.''

"The previous day the team got a thumping from Australia but what was good was that all our kids got to play the course and figure out what it was like and that's probably why we did so well.''

Anahera Koni (6) faced an uphill battle from the start, as she was a single playing against a team of two, and was on a points deficit even if she matched her rivals' pars.

"In saying that, she did draw a couple of holes ... and she only ended up a couple over par on her match. She did beat them on the card.''

Koni said the Australian Open in January could be a possibility for his children.