Golf: Bay looking good for four in a row

North Harbour's Dean Sipson had a remarkable run of holes during the clash with Southland. Picture / Richard Robinson

Bay of Plenty have won the interprovincial golf championship three times in a row and, on their form yesterday, they are clear favourites to make that four.

On a day of humiliation for South Island golf, the Bay beat Otago 5-0 and the beaten finalists for the last two years, Waikato, humbled Canterbury by the same margin.

Four rounds into the tournament Waikato and Wellington, with three wins out of three, have emerged as probable semifinalists from one section, while the Bay have a similar record in the other section. Taranaki have two wins and a half and Auckland have two wins.

Bay of Plenty beat Manawatu-Wanganui 4-1 in the morning with only Jason McIntosh losing. In the afternoon they gave Otago, the South Island provincial champions, no chance.

Only captain Mark Smith was taken to the last green and he accounted for the evergreen Jim Lapsley one up.

On a course where par can be a good score on some of the holes, the Bay are playing smart (as in Geoff Smart, their coach) golf. While many have been flummoxed by the tiered greens and tough pin placements, they minimise the downside and stick to their game plan.

Waikato again look likely finalists and they showed the disappointing Canterbury side no mercy. Mark Purser was particularly impressive, beating Brad Stuart 6 and 5. In their second match of the day against Northland, Richard Wright's comeback half against Iain Power was the only blemish.

Wellington dropped two games beating Southland in the morning, but accounted for Poverty Bay 5-0 in the afternoon. Taranaki also looked like three-match winners midway through their clash with Manawatu-Wanganui, but Murray Martin lost to Stuart Smith on the last hole and Joon Ho Choi managed only a half.

Both Auckland and North Harbour played only in the afternoon and both won comfortably.

The Aucklanders had little trouble to clinch a 4 1/2- 1/2 victory over Aorangi and North Harbour beat Southland 4-1.

Harbour's number one, Dean Sipson, produced one of the most unusual run of holes in his 5 and 4 win over Todd Sinclair. He bogeyed the first, parred the second, had a double-bogey on the third. Then he went birdie, eagle, birdie, birdie, birdie, par.

It was a tribute to Sinclair's resilience that he managed to halve the 485m fifth hole in eagle three.

There is only one round this morning and the key games will be Bay of Plenty against Taranaki and Auckland against Manawatu-Wanganui. The final two rounds of section play will be tomorrow.