GOLF - Gillespie top player but Bay misses title

ANENDRA SINGH
It's perhaps not enough to erase the pain - even well after 48 hours - of realising how close Hawke's Bay senior golf men's team came to lifting the title of the premier tournament in Bay of Plenty at the weekend.
However, for what it's worth, the Stortford Auto Sales-sponsored team can take some consolation from the fact that they were the only side to defeat interprovincial winners BOP at the Mount Maunganui Golf Club last week.
Furthermore, knowing Bay top seed Nick Gillespie will probably play down the significance of his flawless contribution there would have been a gross injustice if the Hastings Golf Club member had not been awarded the player-of-the-tournament accolades on his debut.
An affirmation of Hawke's Bay coach Brian Doyle's verdict on the eve of Saturday's final, a panel of media judges had no hesitation in adjudging Gillespie (pictured right), an elite New Zealand Academy player, the winner even though HB didn't make the final.
"Nick's achievements were particularly noteworthy, because a) it was his debut interprovincial and b) he won all his games at No.1, against the best players from each team. His sportsmanship and conduct sealed the deal." Amen.
BOP captain Mark Smith paid tribute to Hawke's Bay in his winner's speech on Saturday.
"There are only two teams we haven't beaten this year - one of them is Canterbury, who we haven't played, and the other one is Hawke's Bay who have beaten us three times," he said. "They had another outstanding tournament and were unlucky not to make the play-offs and it's great to see Nick pick up the player of the tournament award."
Hawke's Bay bowed out as the "unlucky" fifth-placed side who had more points in section one than section two qualifiers Tasman.
In section two Tauranga's Jared Pender made the clutch putt on the final hole to give BOP victory over Wellington in the tournament final.
Pender edged out 2006 amateur champion Andrew Green 1-up to give BOP a 3-2 victory and with it their fourth interprovincial title in six years, after they took 50 years to claim the crown for the first time.
Both Wellington and BOP were convincing 4-1 winners over North Harbour and Tasman, respectively, in the semifinals earlier on Saturday.
The tourney will have a new look next year with international mowers and irrigation company Toro as sponsors.