Canterbury in contention as cream rises to top Toro Interprovincial

All the big names have started to find their stride at the 2018 Mens Toro Interprovincial with Canterbury claiming two big victories at the Clearwater Golf Club to rise to the top.

They joined Wellington, Auckland, Manawatu/Wanganui and defending champions North Harbour who all found the form that is required to take out this marathon event which has set up an exciting end to the week.

Although being defeated by Wellington in the morning, overnight sensations Manawatu/Wanganui left on another high note after beating a strong Waikato side to keep their district near the top of the table. The 2013 champions are yet to have a bye, but its clear this side is enjoying being in contention once again.

After an agonizing halve with Wellington yesterday, the Canterbury locals have their swag back after defeating Waikato 3-2 in the morning, followed by one of the tournaments most dominant victories of all time over Poverty Bay/East Coast.

Their 5-0 result read; Matt McLean def William Brown 8/6, Hiroki Miya def Anaru Reedy 8/6, Andrew Green def Peter Kerekere 4/3, Mike Toeke def Hukanui Brown 6/5 and Reid Hilton def Eddie Brown 6/4.

After making his debut in 2002, veteran Andrew Green is excited with where his Canterbury side are heading.

"It all comes down to all the preparation we have done and this afternoons good result summed that up and is the way we want to continue this week," said the 11-time Toro Interprovincial player.

Starting things off in style tomorrow morning is the feature match of the day between Canterbury and North Harbour which has got Greens attention.

"My personal form has been good, but you can sense the boys are excited and its all about gelling as a team this week and tomorrow morning will be the perfect time to do it against North Harbour."

Earlier in the day, Wellington faced the in-form Manawatu/Wanganui and showed their class to win 3.5-1.5 in a tight match before cruising past Aorangi this afternoon. This keeps them undefeated and on track entering the half day tomorrow.

After making the final last year, Auckland continue their quest to go one better with a tight victory over a fighting Otago side before cruising past Taranaki in the second round of the day.

Tee times for the Toro Interprovincial will remain the same all week with the first match teeing off at 7:30am but tomorrow players will be treated with an afternoon off before the business end of the tournament.

- This story has been automatically published using a media release from Golf NZ