From field to fairways for Skudder

Teeing it up: Poverty Bay Heartland rugby player Shayde Skudder will make his national interprovincial golf tournament debut next month at Mount Maunganui's Omanu and Tauranga courses. Picture by Paul Rickard

HAVING led YMP to premier club rugby glory in 2022, Shayde Skudder has shifted his focus to the grass of another sporting arena.

A talented golfer, Poverty Bay Heartland rugby squad member Skudder will make his national interprovincial debut on Mount Maunganui's Omanu and Tauranga courses next month.

Skudder has been named in the six-man Poverty Bay-East Coast golf team for the week-long matchplay tournament.

He is one of three Patutahi club members in the side. Clubmates Hukanui Brown and Dwayne Russell are also in the squad.

Russell will once again achieve the feat of playing for PBEC at the Freyberg Masters (over-40s) and the national interprovincial in the same year.

Poverty Bay Golf Club head greenkeeper William Brown will captain a side also featuring Andrew Higham (Te Puia Springs) and Neil Hansen (Tolaga Bay).

Brown and Higham are old hands when it comes to national interprovincial experience.

Brown, at just 29 years of age, will chalk up his 14th consecutive year at the tournament, closing in on his goal of playing at national interprovincials in all 15 of the country's provinces.

Hansen returns after making his national interprovincial debut at the 2019 edition in Hastings.

Teaching professional and Poverty Bay Golf Club manager Dave Keown will once again manage the team.

PBEC face Manawatu-Wanganui and North Harbour at Omanu on Day 1, followed by Otago and Wellington at Tauranga on Day 2, Aorangi at Omanu on Day 3 and Bay of Plenty at Omanu on Day 4.

They were 14th last year, defeating Otago for their one team point and racking up 10½ individual points over the week.

This year's men's and women's interprovincials are being held jointly and Gisborne's Tessa McDonald is expected to be in the yet-to-be-confirmed Hawke's Bay-Poverty Bay women's squad.

McDonald and fellow Poverty Bay Golf Club member Ellen Ball were members of the HBPB women's team who competed in a recent matchplay interprovincial at Hawke's Bay Golf Club.

McDonald was at No.1 and Ball No.3 in the eight-strong side for the Sybil Green Salver also involving Manawatu-Wanganui and Taranaki, but minus Wellington for what is usually a quadrangular.

McDonald had two halves — sharing the honours with Celeste McLean (Taranaki) and Lisa Herbert (Man-Wang).

She was ahead late in both matches but was unable to finish the job, which she put down to being a little “out of practice”.

Ball lost 4 and 3 to Stephanie Hyatt (Man-Wang) and 1-down to Holly Winter.

HBPB beat Man-Wang 4½-3½, which won them the Judy Pearson Salver played for between the two provinces.

Taranaki beat HBPB 5-3 and won the Sybil Green Salver with 4 team points and 10 individual wins.

HBPB were second on 2 (7½) and Man-Wang third on 0 (6½).