Hawkes Bay and Otago were the only teams with two wins in a wickedly wet opening day of the Toro Interprovincials in Palmerston North today.
They managed two wins in a long day’s play that did not finish until just before 8pm after several suspensions in play as rain flooded the Manawatu Golf Club.
Otago, with wins over neighbours Aorangi South Canterbury and Southland, lead the way in division one from Aorangi, defending champions Bay of Plenty and surprise packets Poverty Bay East Coast.
Hawkes Bay dominated Waikato 4-1 in the morning and edged out one of the pre-tournament favourites, Auckland 3-2 in the afternoon. They lead from hosts Manawatu Wanganui and Auckland.
Organisers lost two and a half hours throughout the day with the second round not completed until just before darkness at 8pm.
Despite the inclement weather, it was a day of considerable highlights including the morning victory by minnows Poverty Bay East Coast who beat Northland 3-2 for their first win in four years. The key was the winning effort from stalwart Micah Bremner who ironically won the deciding match in their 2005 victory over Southland.
“The boys are over the moon. They have put the work in and got the result they deserved. They are pretty happy,” said manager Dave Keown.
“The course is just fantastic but we just don’t play in this stuff. The guys have adapted well to the conditions. They have played damn well and they showed the spirit through the breakage in play.
“We are not here to be the also-rans. We aim to give everyone a run. This group is five years in the making and we are looking to take it up to another level.”
The match of the day was the last to finish, nearly in the dark, with Hawkes Bay beating a super-strong Auckland combination 3-2. The match was decided when former Auckland representative Leighton James beat international Ben Wallace on the last hole of the last match, when the Aucklander went out of bounds after driving into the trees.
Manawatu Wanganui, a lowly 12th last year, made a strong start with a win in the morning over Taranaki and they were held to a half in the afternoon against Tasman when Hamish Campbell birdied the last hole to claim a crucial half against local player Ewan Westergaard.
Otago celebrated 50 interprovincial games to No 1 Brent McEwan who has returned to the team this year to grab the key win in their 3-2 win over Northland.
There was some hot scoring despite the conditions, with pools of water on the fairways. It was led by New Zealand representatives Ryan Fox, Andrew Stewart and Peter Spearman-Burn. Fox (Auckland) shot a remarkable seven-under par 29 for the back nine on his way to an 8 and 7 win over fellow international Daniel Pearce (Hawkes Bay). Stewart (Bay of Plenty) had eight birdies in his 6 and 5 win against Poverty Bay’s Matthew Mackey while Spearman-Burn had six birdies in his 5 and 4 victory over Taranaki’s Brad Hayward.
It was also a moment of celebration for New Zealand golf selector Peter Heyes (Aorangi South Canterbury) who played in his 100th interprovincial match, as his team grabbed a well earned 3-2 win over Southland.
Round robin play continues to Friday with semifinals and final on Saturday.
For further information please visit www.nzgolf.org.nz
|
.png)