‘Driving mojo’ rediscovered

THE return of Tony Akroyd’s “driving mojo” and an encouraging debut by Rod Moore were the positives as Poverty Bay-East Coast battled on at the Freyberg Masters in Hamilton yesterday.

PBEC lost 4-1 to North Harbour in round 5 of the over-40s matchplay tournament being held at the St Andrew’s course.

It was a fifth consecutive team defeat and kept them at the foot of the 15-province table albeit only half a team point behind Taranaki.

Akroyd, at No.3 in the five-man team, saved the whitewash with a 1-up win over Stephen O’Reilly.

“Tonez got his driving mojo going,” said PBEC No.2 and manager Simon Jeune.

“He’d been struggling (off the tee) but on the the last nine holes found something that’s working for him.”

Jeune also had an 18-hole duel, with Tayne Derriman. but fell just short.

“It was close. I got to 3-down early but clawed my way back.”

At all-square playing the 18th, however, Jeune found the bunker with his second shot — while Derriman put his approach to eight-foot from the pin — and was unable to up and down.

Moore was fizzing after his first taste of interprovincial golf — a 2 and 1 loss to Chad Meyer.

“It was great,” he said of the experience.

“I was 1-up through the turn (nine holes) but three-putted the next two holes and couldn’t get it back after that.”

Moore said his driver “behaved itself” but he found the greens extremely testing.

“They were pretty slick —a totally different league to home.”

In the other matches, No.1 Anaru Reedy lost 4 and 3 to Stu Nicholls and No.4 Peter Clayton lost 6 and 4 to Bryan Inglis.

Clayton dropped out of the five for this morning’s clash with Otago, his place taken by Glenn Morley.

PBEC face Northland in the afternoon and finish the week-long tournament against Southland tomorrow afternoon.

Heading into this morning, Bay of Plenty topped the table on four team points and 17.5 individual wins, with Wellington second on four and 16.5 and Manawatu-Wanganui third on four and 16.