Colonel of the golf course - Tom Parker

Prior to this year, the last time Christchurch Boys’ High School had qualified for the National Secondary Schools golf championship was in 1999 when y2k was deemed a very real threat and none of the present team was born.
 
Last week at the Hawke’s Bay Golf Club, Christchurch made up for lost time by capturing the title for the first time.
 
In the 36-hole tournament, Christchurch beat local rivals and defending champions Burnside High School by eight shots. Christchurch’s efforts were spearheaded by Tom Parker who won the individual crown, finishing three shots ahead of teammate Ben Baker. Parker fired the round of the tournament with a 66, recovering from a slow start.
 
“To shoot 66 was pretty awesome. I was grinding for the first five holes, but managed to make a few nice up and downs which put me at one under before I started making some putts,” Parker reflects.

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​“We expected a tough contest. Burnside was probably the favourites because they won last year and had mostly the same team. Ben played some great golf to and finished second. To have the top two individual players went a long way towards winning the title.” Parker continued.
 
It’s been an all-conquering season for Christchurch. In addition to winning Nationals, Christchurch won all four of their annual interschool exchanges against Auckland Grammar School, Westlake Boys’ High School, Otago Boys’ High School and Timaru Boys’ High School.
 
Parker is accustomed to playing big events. Last year he was one of three of Canterbury's most promising young golfers and won the right to travel to China for the Faldo Series Asia Grand Final in Shenzhen. Additionally Parker has travelled to Hong Kong and New Caledonia where he won the South Pacific Junior Open by seven shots.

“Playing overseas was an awesome experience. The heat was a challenge as was the different nature and grass of the courses. I learned a lot and am keen for more travel,” Parker enthused.
 
In July 2018, Parker will satisfy his desire for further travel and head the US on a golf scholarship at the University of Oregon. Oregon was second in the National championships this year and won the title in 2016 making it one of the top collegiate programs in the world.
 
Parker is a prefect at Boys’ High and receives extra fitness coaching from John Wilson who works closely with shot put world champion Tom Walsh.