Australia has retained its men’s and women’s teams titles at the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC) Senior Amateur Championships, while Korean Heo Ji-baek and New Zealand’s Lisa Herbert had the distinction of claiming individual honours.

At Vinpearl Hai Phong, Australia proved too strong for its rivals, clinching the men’s and women’s team crowns for the third year in succession.

Over the Marsh Course, Peter Bennett, Ken Brewer, David Gannon and Bradley Dowling cruised to a 12-shot victory from Korea with New Zealand a further four strokes back in third.

On the adjacent Lake Course, the trio of Sue Wooster, Gemma Dooley and Louise Mullard emerged triumphant for the second year in a row, enjoying a 10-shot winning margin from Japan with New Zealand third.

In the men’s team championship in which the best three daily scores from each four-man team are counted, Australia posted a final-day score of 216, courtesy of Gannon’s 71, an even-par 72 from Dowling and a 73 for Bennett. Brewer’s 75 was not needed.

“We came here to win the team event and we’re pleased to have achieved that,” said 64-year-old scratch-handicapper Brewer, who was also a member of the winning Australian line-up in Malaysia in 2022.

At one stage early on the back nine of the final round, Korea reduced its 13-stroke overnight deficit to six. That was the closest they managed to get, despite the best efforts of Heo, who added a 69 to two previous 70s.

Heo raced to 4-under through the first nine holes to keep distance between him and his pursuers and could even afford the luxury of dropped shots at 12 and 13. A fifth birdie of the day at 14 put the gloss on another accomplished sub-par round.

Australia began the final day of the women’s team championship with a three-stroke buffer over Japan and never came under serious threat.

For that they had Mullard to thank. In the event in which the best two daily scores are counted, Mullard’s returns of 76 and 77 had not been required on the first two days.

But with both Wooster and Dooley struggling to find their top form in the final round, Mullard stepped up to the plate with a 73, the best score among the Australians.

New Zealand’s last-day tally of three-under 141, courtesy of Herbert and Diana Syer, was the best daily team score of the women's tournament. Despite double-bogeys at two of the par-threes, Syer’s closing 74 was a seven-stroke improvement on her scores on the opening two days.

It was her team-mate Herbert, however, who shone brightest to deny Wooster a second successive individual crown.

Four shots behind pace-setting Wooster in fifth place after two rounds, left-handed Herbert produced one of the rounds of her life, signing for a bogey-free 5-under 67, the best round of the week.

With a 54-hole total of 215, she was the only female to finish in red figures, ending five strokes in front of second-placed Wooster, who carded a 76.

Leading Men’s Team Scores

647 – Australia 220-211-216

659 – Korea 223-221-215

663 – New Zealand 223-222-218

695 – Myanmar 230-233-232

696 – Hong Kong China 231-232-233

697 – India 226-235-236

702 – Vietnam 234-234-234

Leading Men’s Individual Scores

209 – Heo Ji-baek (Korea) 70-70-69

215 – Peter Bennett (Australia) 73-69-73

216 – Ken Brewer (Australia) 72-69-75

217 – Jang Myung-duk (Korea) 70-77-70

218 – Stuart Duff (New Zealand) 75-71-72; Kim Dong-sub (Korea) 73-71-74

219 – David Gannon (Australia) 75-73-71; Jay Won (Hong Kong China) 71-75-73

222 – Bradley Dowling (Australia) 76-74-72; Malcolm Gullery (New Zealand) 74-73-75

Leading Women’s Team Scores

439 – Australia 145-145-149

449 – Japan 149-144-156

451 – New Zealand 154-156-141

485 – Hong Kong China 160-160-165

496 – Singapore 159-175-162

Leading Women’s Individual Scores

215 – Lisa Herbert (New Zealand) 73-75-67

220 – Sue Wooster (Australia) 73-71-76

222 – Gemma Dooley (Australia) 72-74-76

224 – Shiori Uchiyama (Japan) 75-72-77

225 – Haruko Hirabayashi (Japan) 74-72-79

226 – Louise Mullard (Australia) 76-77-73

236 – Diana Syer (New Zealand) 81-81-74

239 – Cathy Chung (Hong Kong China) 78-80-81

244 – Ghazala Yasmin (Pakistan) 81-81-82

245 – Emily Lee Beng Hua (Singapore) 75-91-79