The 2019 Womens Toro Interprovincial has enjoyed a stunning start to the week with a handful of highlights and plenty of sun at Waitikiri Golf Club.
It only took one round of golf for the roof to lift off with Silvia Brunotti of North Harbour and Tessa McDonald of Hawkes Bay/Poverty Bay both chipping in on the 18th hole in front of many locals to win their matches in style.
North Harbour were facing a gritty Tasman side who looked primed for a big upset to start their campaign and it all came down to the number one pairing of Brunotti and Lizzie Neale with the match sitting at 2.5 each.
From the tee, Brunotti found herself behind a tree and was forced to chip out which made the Tasman upset look all the more likely. This was before she stunned the crowd by rolling her pitch shot in for birdie to stun Neale who was incredible all day and deserved more for her efforts.
After all the drama on day one, its Wellington who find themselves at the top of the pops after victories over Southland (5-0) and Waikato (4-1) as they search for their first title since 1992.
The team of Darae Chung, Erika Cui, Alanah Gullery, Mia Scrimgeour and Anita Harkerss looked calm on opening day and will hope there is a hint of poetry about this week with that Wellington victory 26-years ago also in Christchurch.
It all went to script for the host side, with Canterbury carving up Southland in their one match of the day 4.5-0.5. On a stunning afternoon there were noticeable local fans turning up to watch their team who are aiming to repeat their success of 2015.
They have three members of that winning team still present with Juliana Hung, Hillary OConnor and player of the tournament in that year, Catherine Bell all back and in fine form.
The defending champions Auckland enjoyed a sleep in with their bye this morning before taking on a courageous Aorangi side who caught the favourites napping to be all square at the turn. However, they havent won six of the last seven titles for no reason as they bolted back to their best to end with a 4.5-0.5 victory.
They also produced some of the days finest highlights with Vivian Lu holing out for an eagle three on the second hole (her back nine) before Aucklands number one Carmen Lim followed suit 10 minutes later with an eagle on the same hole.
After a torrid week of weather at the Mens Toro Interprovincial, the clouds cleared and helped provide a thrilling day which has set the tone for an exciting week at Waitikiri Golf Club who are playing a great hosting role.
Once again the golf will commence at 7:30am with a feature being Canterbury taking on Manawatu/Wanganui which will come down to the wire and allow us to define how their week might go.
- This story has been automatically published using a media release from Golf NZ
Stunning start to Womens Toro Interprovincial
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