NORTHLAND'S top-five finish at the under-23 team nationals has three members of the team primed for a good performance at the national under-23 individual tournament, which started yesterday at Bridge Pa, in Hawke's Bay.
Gary-John Hill, Dale Clarke and Brad Bonnington all recorded solid performances during Northland's best finish in several
years at the teams tournament at Taupo this week.
The team, who also included Lee Newman and Josh Clark-Steedman, shot the best score of the second round.
They had improved to second place after the third round, only to choke on the fourth and final round and card their worst total of the week - by 12 shots - and crash out of contention.
"That saw us finish in fifth though, which has got to be one of the best results that I've ever seen a Northland team achieve," team manager Graeme Hill said.
"So that's got to be promising for them, going into the first day of the individual tournament.
"It was a great result, our top three were equal to any of the top three in any of the provinces, so hopefully that gives them the impetus they need."
Hill junior, despite a ropey final round, finished with the second best individual score at the team's tournament and must be considered a chance at the strokeplay tournament - if he can topple his former Rotorua Boys' High School teammate Danny Lee.
Lee continued his phenomenal recent form and will be hard to beat at the tournament at Bridge Pa.
"The way Danny Lee has been playing it's very hard to see how anyone is going to beat him at the moment," Hill said.
"He's one of the best amateurs I've ever seen ... he's got such a strong will-power to win at the moment, it's almost Tiger (Woods) like."
Despite the accolade, Hill said that even Lee had his off-days and that would have to happen if a Northland name was to appear on the trophy.
Waikato won the teams competition, followed by North Harbour and Wellington.
