Northland double boosts local hopes at Toro Interprovincials

Tournament hosts Northland have claimed a huge scalp in the mens Toro Interprovincials this morning by beating defending champions and tournament favourites Wellington (3-2) in a tight tussle at the Mangawhai Golf Club.

After Luke Brown defeated Daniel Hillier on the final hole, Northland then backed up this result by defeating Manawatu/Wanganui in the afternoon to claim two from two and take top spot in their pool.

Northland 3 defeated Wellington 2 Luke Brown def Daniel Hillier 1up, Scott Wightman def Kerry Mountcastle 3&2, Christian Nitsche lost to Elton Nicholson 3&2, Alex Neely lost to Josef Edge 3&2, Kadin Neho def Jonathan Cane 4&2.

Northlands number one and New Zealand high performance player Luke Brown was more than satisfied with day two and is excited for what this team can do.

"Its been a really good day and I was very proud of the boys to come out firing this morning off the back of the tough loss to Waikato yesterday," said Brown.

"To get the win over defending champions Wellington was huge. With the team being up in all five games it put us in a good position to hit the back nine and took a bit of the pressure off.

"I really enjoy the team aspect of match play, it was a different feeling being one-up with one to play against Dan as it wasnt just for myself, it was to get the win for the team and really get us in a good position for the week ahead. It was a pretty special feeling to get that crucial third win for the team on the 18th."

This Northland side could make history at the Mangwhai Golf Club this weekend, but they will need every ounce of local support to get over the line.

"The opportunity that lies ahead of us is huge and were really excited to chase a title that Northland has never won and be the first team to achieve this. Weve been together a long time now, for at least four events so theres no better time to take the experience weve gained and convert it in front of a home crowd. The local support has been great, were really enjoying the comfort of being in our hometown and we look forward to the continued support."

Its still very early in proceedings, but Waikato look to be on a collision course with Wellington for a semi-final spot in division one if Northland can maintain their form. Also going under the radar is Auckland who after halving with Aorangi on day one remain unbeaten at this stage.

The morning round was riddled with upsets after Aorangi defeated a confident Bay of Plenty side (3.5-1.5) before Taranaki tipped up Otago (3-2) who have played in the last three finals in a row.

This has left the door wide open for a large number of teams and makes for an exciting day tomorrow which could be compared to moving day as we look to finalise our top four.

Division two leaders North Harbour are looking better than good with nothing but wins to start their week including victories over Poverty Bay East Coast and Hawkes Bay today.

The interesting match-up of the one and only round of the half day tomorrow will be the Northland versus the undefeated Auckland side.

The Auckland womens team continue to prove they are almost unstoppable in their quest to claim seven Toro Interprovincial titles in nine years.

On the way to winning nine of ten matches on yet another beautiful Northland day, they will have energy to burn after wrapping their matches up well before the final hole.

Auckland 5 def Taranaki 0 Rose Zheng def Celeste McLean 5&4, Caryn Khoo def Jo McDonald 6&4, Brittney Dryland def Rochelle Keegan 6&5, Carmen Lim def Kay-Maree Mihaljevich 7&6, Siyi Keh def Kim Lucas 5&3

Auckland 4 def North Harbour 1 Rose Zheng def Silvia Brunotti 2&1, Caryn Khoo def Vaha Fapiano 6&5, Brittney Dryland lost to Amy Huh 2&1, Carmen Lim def Anna An 3&1, Siyi Keh def Eujin Kang 7&6

The home side of Northland returned to their winning ways after defeating Aorangi in the morning by a dominant margin (3.5-1.5).

They then enjoyed an afternoon bye to prepare themselves for a virtual quarter-final against North Harbour tomorrow morning. Whoever wins this fixture will progress into the semi-finals alongside Auckland who have already punched their ticket into the final stages.

Canterbury have also enjoyed a good day at the office with two from two wins against Hawkes Bay Poverty Bay and the impressive Waikato side. This almost guarantees them a place in semi-finals which will be hugely satisfying for the new-look mainland side.

FULL WOMENS POINTS TABLE HERE

FULL MENS POINTS TABLE HERE

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