Winning end to section play for HBPB team

File picture

GOLF

IT was cheers over a well-earned glass of bubbly for Hawke’s Bay-Poverty Bay last night after a winning end to section play at the national women’s interprovincial golf tournament in Auckland.

“Everyone’s so stoked,” HBPB No.1 Tessa McDonald, of Gisborne, said following their 4-1 defeat of Tasman on the penultimate day of the teams’ matchplay tournament on the Akarana course.

It put them seventh overall and into a positional playoff for seventh and eighth.

At last year’s national interprovincials in Napier, they were a disappointing 12th out of 13 provinces.

McDonald contributed strongly once again yesterday, defeating Tasman counterpart Aroha Minhinnick 1-up after faltering a little at the death.

“I was 3-up with three to play,” she said.

“I lost the next two with bogeys, but parred the last to win.”

The pressure had been lifted a little by No.3 Martha Manaena (7 and 5), No.4 Clare Choi (4 and 2) and No.5 Aseri Miekle (6 and 4) having already sealed the team win.

McDonald’s win gave her a four-win/two-loss record, her best performance as a No.1 at the national interprovincials.

HBPB went into the Tasman clash with a chance of finishing section play in the top six, which would have put them into a positional playoff for fifth this morning.

The team win, however, was not enough as Otago had two team wins yesterday — HBPB had a bye in the morning — and leapfrogged HBPB into fifth, with Wellington dropping to sixth.

HBPB finished section play on 3½ team points and 16 individual wins, just half an individual win behind Wellington.

The were to face Northland in the seventh/eighth playoff today. The teams halved when they met at the start of the week.

Defending champions Auckland finished top of section play with a perfect record of six team wins and they were to face North Harbour in the semifinals.

Canterbury and Bay of Plenty were in the other semi.