Northern women HBPB interzone champs again

WINNERS ARE GRINNERS: The Northern team are all smiles after winning the Hawke's Bay-Poverty Bay women's interzone team aggregate stableford title this week. Back row (from left) are Marg Colebourne (manager), Hiria McClutchie, Andrea Haisman, Ann Ward, Pat Johansen, Robyn Ngatai and Peri Gayford. Middle: Odette Thompson, June MacKinnon, Vicki Fraser, Sally Spence and Jan Utting. Front: Kirsty Shaw, Anne Witters, Teresa Lewis, Gay Young and Pen Wanklyn. Picture supplied

A cobbled-together team added another successful chapter to Northern's impressive history at the Hawke's Bay-Poverty Bay interzone competition earlier this week.

Northern won the 27-hole aggregate team stableford competition held on the Hawke's Bay (Flaxmere) course by just three points.

Battling gale-force wins, the 16-strong Northern team totalled 686 points, with Central second on 683 and Southern third on 624.

It was the 29th time Northern had won since the interzone was instigated in 1959.

Northern Zone representative Vicki Fraser was delighted, considering the battle she and fellow zone rep Sally Spence had to fill all 16 places after multiple withdrawals.

June MacKinnon won the badge for Northern's top individual performance — 49 points.

Four players had 47 points — Sally Spence, Pat Johansen, Andrea Haisman and Teresa Lewis while Gay Young and Kirsty Shaw had 46.

Fraser said the team were “outstanding” in difficult conditions.

“The scoring may not have been hot but once again we played as a team, and scraped home.

“What amazes me is with the small number of players here now, how they step up when needed.”