Strokeplay title walkover for Dangen

Whangaroa's Sam Dangen was far too good for the rest of the silver medal field in the Northland Champion of Champions strokeplay competition, winning by a comfortable margin of eight shots.

Dangen fired in a 77 first round on Saturday morning at the Whangarei Golf Club course and followed it up with a 78 in the afternoon to comfortably beat the rest of the field and win the title for 2012.

"The course really played well with the fairways in lovely nick for this time of year and the greens were very nice as well," she said.

Some of her expected rivals faltered, however, on the hard, dry course - particularly in the morning - with some players unsure of how to play it.

"There were some big scores and, listening at the clubhouse afterwards, some players were trying to drop it short and then getting a huge kick through some of the greens while others were playing long and sometimes getting a big kick sideways off the fairway," Dangen said.

It was a double victory for Dangen as her Whangaroa club won the Iris Farrell Rosebowl competition.

The match was graced by the presence of 97-year-old Iris Farrell, who lives near the course and who watched some of the action from the clubhouse.

The Whangaroa team of Dangen, Phoebe Cowan and Petrina Maddren won the Northland competition to earn the right to take part in the national postal competition; ahead of the Northland Golf Club team of Margaret Pearce, Mickey McKegg and Anita Peachey.

Wellsford's Sjanna Bonnington was runner-up in the silver (0-19 handicap) division after improving from a wayward 85 in the morning with a second round 78.

Ngunguru's Moira Pullman won the bronze division, with McKegg runner-up, while Whangarei's Kerry Pevy took out the senior 18-hole competition ahead of the Houhora's Kyra Rapana.

Rapana herself will represent the Houhora Golf Club when she plays in the four-strong Northland team at the New Zealand Golf Masters championships in Invercargill from Thursday through to Sunday this week.

Making up the Northland quartet are Denise Pilbrow (from the Waipu GC), Lesley Cunliffe (Northern Wairoa) and Kerry Pevy (Whangarei).

The foursome leave for the South Island tomorrow, having won the right to represent their province at the national champs by taking part in a trial series which was held over a three month period earlier this year.