For sheer drama Bay of Plenty's opening salvo on day one of the men's national interprovincial in Gisborne yesterday will take some beating.
Bay of Plenty are on top of section two after two courageous come-from-behind wins over Southland and Tasman, bagging the perfect start having won three of the past four interprovincial titles.
Manawatu/Wanganui are the surprise leaders in section one, joined by Hawkes Bay on 1.5 points from two matches.
On the other side of the draw Waikato join Bay of Plenty undefeated.
Two of the pre-tournament favourites Canterbury and Auckland suffered shock losses on day one to Taranaki and Northland, respectively, and sit at the foot of the table after having their bye.
Bay edged Southland 3-2 yesterday morning, with No 5 debut player Craig Hamilton battling back from 3 down through 11 holes to win 1 up on the last over Tyler McLean, with Bay's other wins coming from No 2 Landyn Edwards and James Hamilton.
Then, in the afternoon match against Tasman, Bay used their get-out-of-jail card, turning an almost certain loss into a miracle 3-1 win after Craig Hamilton and Landyn Edwards burned up the last few holes to pull it out of the fire.
Edwards went birdie, birdie, par, birdie to sink Hamish Campbell 2 down while Hamilton was 2 down with four to play against Nick Ludbrook but banged in three birdies, including a 50-foot putt on the last, to bag a vital half.
Blair Riordan beat Brad Kendall 3 and 2, handing the Bay No 1 his second loss, James Hamilton beat Ryan Chisnall 2 and 1 while Sam Davis was always in control against Tom Dasler, winning 3 and 2.
Bay coach Jay Carter said it was one of the best days he'd had at an interprovincial.
"With four holes to go against Tasman if you said we'd win I'd have had you committed, even a half would have had you committed. But it was an outstanding comeback, just huge, particularly from Craig.
"I was walking off the 7th green with Landyn and heard Walshy [manager Aaron Walsh] and Sam yelling from 300m away when Craig sank that putt. It was a pretty emotional afternoon and we might be young but they played as a team."
Wellington, who in 2010 became the most successful team in the 60-year history claiming their 13th title, got off to a successful start by defeating locals Poverty Bay East Coast 4-1.
The top two teams from each division progress to the semifinals and with their slow start Canterbury and Auckland are now under pressure in Division One.
Men's Interprovincial scores:
Round one:
Poverty Bay EC 2 Hawkes Bay 3: Simon Jenkins lost to Ben Swinburne 2/1, William Brown bt Sam Penrice 2/1, Steven Donnelly bt Matt Mouat 4/3, Andrew Higham lost to Kieran Goodall 3/1, Dion Milner lost to Paul Malcolm 1up.
Bay of Plenty 3 Southland 2: Brad Kendall lost to Cody Harper 4/3, Landyn Edwards bt Liam Balneaves 3/2, James Hamilton bt Scott Hellier 4/3, Sam Davis lost to Matt Tautari 3/2, Craig Hamilton bt Tyler McLean 1up.
Canterbury 2 Taranaki 3: Keelan Kilpatrick lost to Brad Hayward 4/3, Owen Burgess lost to Tim White 3/2m Jordan Bakermans bt Thomas Hill 5/4, Tom Turner bt Zach Lewis 4/3, Mark O'Malley lost to Murray Martin 2/1.
Northland Man/Wang 4: Brad Bonnington lost to Josh Munn 5/4, Kadin Neho lost to Tyler Hodge 3/1, Lee Neumann lost to Lachie McDonald 3/2, Alex Neely lost to Rhys Watkins 2/1, Luke Brown halved with Trent Munn.
Otago 1 Tasman 3: Brent McEwan halved with Blair Riordan, Andrew Hobbs lost Hamish Campbell 5/4, Tyrone Ratahi lost Tom Dasler 1up, Chris Snow lost Nick Ludbrook 4/3, Simon Hollyer bt Nick Loach 2/1.
Round two:
Auckland 2 Northland 3: Ryan Fox bt Brad Bonnington 4/3, Fraser Wilkin lost Kadin Neho 2/1, Jonathan Ratcliffe lost Lee Neumann 2/1, Nick Voke lost Alex Neely 3/2, Tae Koh bt Luke Brown 3/2
Southland 4 Aorangi 1: Cody Harper lost to Tim Leonard 2/1, Liam Balneaves 3/2 Scott Fox, Scott Hellier bt Owen Millar 1up, Matt Tautari bt Damian Rodgers 3/2, Tyler McLean bt Robbie Bell 1up.
Hawkes Bay 2 Man/Wang 2: Ben Swinburne bt Josh Munn 2/1, Sam Penrice bt Tyler Hodge 2/1, Matt Mouat lost to Lachie McDonald 4/ 3 Kieran Goodall A/S Rhys Watkins, Justin Campbell lost to Trent Munn 3/2
Poverty Bay EC 1 Wellington 4: Simon Jenkins lost to Ben Campbell 6/5, William Brown lost to Thomas Spearman-Burn 3/1, Steven Donnelly lost to Adam Church 5/4, Andrew Higham bt Marc Jennings 3/2, Sherindan Rangihuna lost to Peter Brinsdon 4/3.
Waikato 3 North Harbour 2: Mat Perry bt Cameron Jones 2/1, Leonard Morgan lost to Kevin Budden 3/2, Compton Pikari bt James Davis 4/2, Daniel Graham bt Anthony Cope 3/2, Jason Boobyer lost to Aaron Garnett 1up.
Tasman 1 Bay of Plenty 3: Blair Riordan bt Brad Kendall 3/2, Hamish Campbell lost to Landyn Edwards 2up, Ryan Chisnall lost to James Hamilton 2/1, Tom Dasler lost to Sam Davis 3/2, Nick Ludbrook halved with Craig Hamilton