I was born in New Plymouth, just one hour from Manaia, where I spent most of my childhood, and where my golfing journey began.
My early school years were at Manaia Primary School, followed by Hawera Intermediate and then Hawera High School.
I played several sports during this time, including tennis, cricket and rugby. While I started playing golf at age 12 it wasn’t until I was 15 that I decided to fully commit to golf.
I just couldn’t get enough of it, I would play and practice every day. It was that dedication, and desire to compete, that led me to secure a US College scholarship at the University of West Georgia, in Carrollton, Georgia.
In my third year of college I started to really believe in my golfing ability. I always knew I had some raw talent, but it wasn’t until I polished up some of the rough edges in my game that my scoring average improved, and my belief grew.
One of my strengths is how far I can hit the ball, how much speed I can generate. There is no doubt my time training for tennis, cricket and rugby helped, that training gave me a good athletic base for my golf swing.