The Blues remain in the hunt at the 2026 Junior Interstate Teams Matches after a mixed day two at Moonah Links, going down to New Zealand in the morning before bouncing back to defeat Tasmania in the afternoon.
The Blues faced the competition leaders first up, and despite some promising moments, New Zealand proved too strong, running out 5–3 winners. Wang beat Kim 5&4, Tang accounted for Connolly-Jackson 5&4, Moore beat Fox 2&1, Xie beat Oyston by 1 hole, and Kang delivered the heaviest defeat of the match, beating Chung 6&5. NSW’s bright spots came through Deen, who beat Kim Juwon 5&4, Luo, who beat Yu 4&3, and Cranston, who edged Shah by 1 hole.
“That was probably one of my biggest goals this week, being from New Zealand, just felt good beating them,” Deen said.
“I actually played pretty solid, made some good putts coming in, and I think that’s what got me ahead of her (Juwon Kim).”
The afternoon offered much better fortunes against Tasmania, with NSW running out 5.5–2.5 winners. Kim beat Piper 6&5, Connolly-Jackson beat Richmond 4&3, Chung beat Barrett 2&1, Cranston beat Rice 3&2, and Thomsen won by 1 hole over Richmond, with Oyston halving his match against Nicholls. Schwartz beat Deen 3&2, and Wegman edged Fox by 1 hole for Tasmania’s two wins.
Debutant Mimi Thomsen announced herself on the interstate stage with a hard-fought win in her very first match.
“I played against Jessie Richmond from Tasmania, and she played so well. She definitely didn’t give me the match. I had to win it,” Thomsen said.
“I was a bit nervous early, didn’t hit my best drive off the first, but slowly settled in and started getting a bit more competitive, that’s when I felt comfortable.”
The turning point came on the 18th, her fourth hole of the match.
“I struggled off the tee and basically had to make a good up and down from 60 out, and I did. That was the moment I felt like I was warming up.”
Thomsen, whose sister Lara captained NSW last year and brought home the trophy, spoke about the significance of the week.
“To have that feeling and bring New South Wales home a trophy would just be unreal.”
Chung was in good spirits after his win over Barrett, even if the two rounds of golf were beginning to take their toll.
“Today was a good day, the weather was much better. Body’s a bit sore, feet are a bit sore, everything’s a bit sore,” he laughed.
“I just played my own golf, struggled a bit at the end because I got a bit tired. But it was fun.”
Meanwhile, ACT/NT endured another difficult day. Kanis, Trembath, Whitelock and Rumpff all went down as Queensland won 4–0 in the morning, before Moore, Xie, Kang and Shah won comfortably for New Zealand in the afternoon by the same margin.
New Zealand sits out in front on a perfect four wins from four, while NSW are locked in a four-way tie for second with Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia, all on 2.5 points.
2026 Australian Junior Interstate Teams Matches – Results
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