Daniel Pearce. Photo supplied.Former Ashburton golfer, Daniel Pearce is strutting his stuff on the greens of New Zealand in a rich vein of form.

Pearce, who now hails from the Hawke’s Bay, won the Akarana Open on the weekend by an impressive three shots – his second consecutive win on the Jennian Homes Charles Tour after winning the Mgamotu Classic back in October last year.

The 29-year-old produced consistent golf across the four rounds at the Akarana Golf Course over the weekend to see him home against a strong field of players.

He opened with rounds of 66, 64 and 66 before producing a composed 65 on the final day to hold off the late challenge of defending champion, Gareth Paddison.

Pearce’s iron was his best friend throughout the tournament and he told Golf New Zealand that his short-play won him the tournament.

“I think I played the par threes seven or eight under this week, which is something I have never done in a tournament before, so to have my iron play going so good was a nice feeling,” he said.

“This gives me a lot of confidence, the game is in pretty good shape and I now know I can win a golf tournament even when I’m hitting the driver so badly.”

Pearce said he enjoyed being back plying his trade on familiar land and said that without the ability to play in such tournaments, it would make the struggle of being on the international scene even harder.

“It’s awesome to win out here.

“The Jennian Homes Charles Tour is a great breeding ground for New Zealand golfers and without this it’s really hard to progress yourself because we play overseas a lot.

“But if you’ve got nothing at home to play, to develop yourself and learn how to win, it’s really hard to emulate that when you go overseas.”

The weekend’s result has Pearce sitting in a good position on the leaderboard for the Jennian Homes Trophy which he currently leads comfortably with two wins from three tournaments.

The competition wraps up in a fortnight at the Carrus Open where Pearce will be out to assert his domination.

As another bonus, Pearce is now on top of the Order of Merit for the New Zealand PGA – jumping up 12 spots from his previous position to sit on top of the list of some of the best golfers in the land.

By Matt Markham © The Ashburton Guardian - 11 April 2018