GOLF - Northland shop then drop the big guns

When the going got tough Northland's women golfers opted for retail therapy and it paid off yesterday when they made history by reaching the semifinals of the Toro women's interprovincials for the first time.
A 3-1 victory over North Harbour yesterday gave the team what it needed to take on unbeaten Waikato this morning at the Nelson Golf Club to try and reach this afternoon's final.
Northland was dead in the water at the competition after two losses on Tuesday, the opening day, before a shopping expedition was suggested that afternoon No.4 Aroha Tito said.
"We went shopping together and bought blue nail polish and blue arm-warmers so we looked and felt really good ... we started off as individuals but then decided we should dress as a team and play as a team and it really worked for us," she said.
Tito said the first day of the competition had brought with it the usual nerves and that had been enough to put the team off their game.
"I haven't been to the interprovincials for a couple of years and there were a couple of fairly new girls in the team, so we were all pretty nervous and that (shopping trip) helped us get back into the groove of things," she said.
Northland beat Wellington, defending champions Bay of Plenty and Canterbury over the next three rounds on Wednesday and Thursday and needed to beat North Harbour by a clear two games in the final round - something they achieved exactly.
Both teams ended up second behind pool winners Auckland on eight points apiece, but Northland won 16 games and North Harbour 15.
Caroline Bon continued her good form beating Rica Tse 2up, Phoebe Perrin beat Hanee Song 3&2, while Tito beat Faye Nickson 2up. Sunny Namkoong ended up all square with Jenna Hunter, while Jo Wech lost to Lydia Ko 5&4.
Northland have improved on their best finish of fifth place, no matter how they go against Waikato but they have reason to be confident after their amazing run in the tougher of the two pools.
"We beat Waikato at the quadrangular that we had recently and it's a very similar sort of team, so we've got our hopes up that we can do it again," team captain Mary Sorenson said.
If they beat Waikato they will face the winner of the other semifinal between Auckland and Southland, this afternoon.