After a tight battle with Southland, Northland men finished the Freyberg Masters interprovincial golf tournament in sixth place. Earlier in the tournament at Springfield Golf Course, in Rotorua, Northland had narrow losses to Aorangi, Wellington and Otago, followed by a 3-2 win over Waikato. They then won 3-2 against Bay of Plenty to be third equal in their division to set up a playoff with Southland for fifth and sixth spot.
Northland No1 Bob Shirley easily won his game against Peter Brinsdon 4-2, while No2 Kevin Billington beat Gary Radka 1 up. Scott Wilson and Glenn Sutherland were all square, leaving the two sides on 2 points each. Because they had a better round-robin record, Southland claimed fifth place. Overall it had been a successful tournament for the side, who finished 13th last year, Shirley said.
"We've done pretty well ... the course was very tight - it didn't suit a couple of players," he said. Shirley had a great tournament, with five wins to his name, along with Billington and No4 Whimp who had four wins each. Meanwhile, 2008 winners Wellington defeated North Harbour and Canterbury won over Hawkes Bay in the semifinals. Wellington then went on to successfully defend their title, beating Canterbury 4-1/2. The final of the New Zealand Interprovincial Women's Masters ended yesterday at Coringa Golf Club, in Christchurch, with Southland claiming the tournament honours. Hawkes Bay were runners-up. Northland had a shaky start with a gross stableford score 66, then scores of 69 in the following two rounds. However, during the final round, the women improved, scoring 75, shifting them into 11th place from 14 teams.
