Nerves of steel helped Northland's golfers move up one spot yesterday to lead the 15-team field in the Lion Foundation Freyberg Masters competition at the Muruwai Golf Course.
Northland manager Roy Pelsky said the unfancied team were on top of the world after their victorious run in the first four rounds
but weren't letting it go to their heads.
"The guys are trying to keep a low profile at the moment to try to sneak under the radar, so to speak."
They were conscious of the fact they faced their toughest obstacle to winning the over-40 matchplay teams title today, against defending champions North Harbour.
But, after two upset wins on Monday against better-ranked teams, they continued their giant-killing run yesterday with another tight win over third-seeds Waikato.
No.1 Bob Shirley had a win on the 18th green against Phillip Hunter, while No.2 Scott Wilson and No.4 Murray Donaldson had good wins over Rodney Buck and Wybo Veldman respectively.
Northland's No.3 Bruce Donaldson and No.5 Craig Palmer both went down 3/2 against Steven McCollum and Alan Smith.
In the afternoon, Northland beat Southland in their biggest winning margin of the tournament to date, 3.5/1.5. Shirley, Wilson and Murray Donaldson had wins while Craig Palmer halved his match with Philip McDonald.
Pelsky said Murray Donaldson, playing in his first ever Freyberg event, had displayed nerves of steel throughout the tournament.
Each of his games had gone to 18 holes, and he had won all four of them 1-up, Pelsky said. Palmer, the other debutant in the team, had also played well with two wins, a loss and a halved game, while Shirley was also in good form with three wins out of four to his name.
North Harbour moved into second with three wins after a comfortable 4-1 win over Southland in the morning, followed by a tight 3-2 victory over Taranaki. Harbour have had the bye already, with Northland's bye not scheduled until Friday afternoon.
Wellington, one of Northland's victims on Monday are in third place with 2.5 wins after winning both of their games yesterday, one of them over Bay of Plenty, the leader after Monday's play. The Bay, along with Waikato, Auckland and Canterbury are still in touch with two wins apiece.
