The Otago men's golf team made an impressive start with a resounding 4 to 1 win over Canterbury in the first round of the Toro men's interprovincial tournament on the St Andrews course in Hamilton yesterday morning.
Not only was the team score one-sided, but the winning margins clearly showed Otago was in control.
Even in the lost game, No5 Mark Brooks showed his ability to fight, coming back from six behind to lose on the penultimate green.
Coach Ben Gallie was impressed not only with the way his team played, but also with the players' decision-making on the course.
In the first round, North Harbour triumphed in the battle of the bridge, downing Auckland by 3 to 2, while Hawkes Bay pushed Northland and Aorangi held Southland to a narrow 3 to 2 win.
Brooks halved the first two holes with Scott Manyweathers but then the Canterbury No5 sank several 5m birdie putts to open a large lead at six up after eight holes.
Brooks won the 10, 11, 13 and 14 on the homeward run, reducing the margin to two.
The pair halved the 16th in birdies and the 17th in pars to conclude the contest.
Making his debut at No1, Duncan Croudis and his caddy, Brandon Hodgson, oozed confidence, winning the second with a par and the third with a birdie.
He went three in front on the seventh but turned two ahead when he lost the ninth.
Croudis romped home, winning 10, 11 and 13 to go five up, and the match finished when both he and former professional Andrew Green halved the par 4 14th.
James Anstiss made a slow start at No2, trailing Connell Kilpatrick by one after the first three holes.
He sank an 8m birdie putt to win the fourth and turned one up after making a par from a greenside bunker at the ninth.
He won 10 and 11, lost 12 but made a birdie 4 on the 13th hole to increase his lead to three.
Anstiss hit a good approach to the 15th green and made a birdie 3 to close out the game.
Brent McEwan at No3 was the epitome of consistency, going on to beat J. J. Love by 3 and 2.
He birdied the first and then won the third and fourth holes to go three up but Love retaliated with birdies at 5 and 7, reducing the margin to one.
McEwan won the final two holes in the front nine to turn three ahead.
The match seesawed on the back nine but McEwan won the 16th with a par to finish the match.
Otago No4 Nick Borren posted the largest winning margin, of 6 and 5, at the expense of Michael McAuley.
He lost the first hole but won the next four holes to lead by three, going on to post wins on the seventh and eighth holes to lead by five.
McAuley fought back, winning 9 and 10, but Borren kept his composure and won 11, 12 and 13 to take the honours.
Otago had a bye in the afternoon but will face two more South Island opponents today.
The team will have to be in form against a strong Southland quintet this morning, while taking Aorangi lightly in the afternoon could be at their peril.
