Cecilia Cho. Photo / Richard Robinson
Defending champions Auckland were able to ease their champion player Cecilia Cho back into action yesterday to continue their unbeaten run on the second day of the women's interprovincial team championship in Wellington.
Cho returned last night from victory in the Aaron Baddeley junior international in China.
Her team captain,
Kaye Carroll, had the luxury of resting her in the morning while replacement Emily Eng won all of her games, until Cho made a winning start as Auckland eased to a 4-1 victory over Aorangi South Canterbury in the afternoon.
Auckland jumped into the lead in division one on countback from 2007 champions Bay of Plenty.
In the other division, last year's runners-up North Harbour continued unbeaten at the top of their section with 2008 winners Waikato.
Hosts Wellington are third in their section after they were held to a half with Southland in a tight afternoon match which followed a morning bye.
Southland went close to an upset over Bay of Plenty, losing 3-2 in the morning before getting a 2-2 result against Wellington, with Anne Osment coming from 4-down with seven holes to play to gain a half in the decider against Alanah Braybrook.
Auckland were pushed in their 3-2 morning win over Hawkes Bay Poverty Bay but were impressive in the 4-1 victory over Aorangi South Canterbury in the afternoon, highlighted with a 2 and 1 win for Cho over former international Catherine Knight.
Cho, 16, had four birdies in her round while Knight had two birdies in a match of high quality in the testing southerly winds.
Bay of Plenty were made to work overtime in the 3-2 win over Southland in the morning but impressed in the afternoon over Hawkes Bay, where Saini Skudder and Krystle Holder gained the key wins.
North Harbour had a whitewash 5-0 over Taranaki in the morning round but were pushed by Tasman 3-2 in the afternoon, after the South Island team had done well with a first-day win.
The 13-year-old Ko was again all class, making two birdies and an eagle to be three under par when her match ended in the morning, and notched three birdies in the afternoon's win over Tasman's Katrina Manaena.
Waikato have worked solidly into contention with two 4-1 wins yesterday over Manawatu-Wanganui and Taranaki, with Kelly Nicholas, Charlotte and Hannah Seifert remaining unbeaten.
- NZPA
