Newcomer Island Park posted its first win in the metropolitan men's senior A pennant series, beating Taieri 4.5 1.5 on the Island Park course yesterday morning.
Resplendent in their new purple playing shirts, the Island Park players relished playing at home and their convincing win on the nine hole course sends a message to the favoured teams that they will be tough playing at home.
Andrew Hobbs set the pace at No 1 to beat Taieri's Roy McLean on the 16th green while team captain Michael Minty accounted for Ken Shaw 4 and 3.
No 5 Kelly Adam downed Elliot Hornbrook by an impressive 6 and 5, while North Otago greenkeeper Gary Creedy beat Ian Boath on the 17th green.
Brent Reid (No 4) was the only Taieri player to win, beating Nick James in a close match which lasted the distance.
The battle between the No 2 players, Michael Wray and Callum Stringer, was halved when both players parred the final hole.
St Clair was too strong for Chisholm Park and, after winning 4 2, is top of the table with six points and 7.5 games.
No 1 Brent McEwan started birdie birdie and continued to show good form, beating Conor Jamison in 12 holes.
The St Clair tail was dynamic with Stephen Hitchcox (5 and 4) and Tony Giles (7 and 6) posting wins over their Park opponents.
The Geary brothers, Sean and Kyle, both won with two holes to spare, leaving the battle between the No 2 players to decide the outcome. Ryan Bellamy was one ahead of Mark Collie with two holes to play and the St Clair win was secure when the pair halved the 17th hole in pars.
Bellamy put the icing on the cake with a birdie 3 on the final hole to ensure the win and St Clair's winning margin.
With Duncan Croudis, Nick Borren, Brandon Hodgson and Daniel Elder all competing in the New Zealand amateur in Wellington this weekend, the scheduled match between Otago Blue and Otago Gold will be played at a later date.
Smith star performer
With rounds of 69 and 72, Harry Smith (Otago) was the star performer in the Otago age group championships over 36 holes at Balmacewen yesterday.
Smith held a healthy lead of three over Ryan Shuttleworth (Wanaka) at lunch and both players carded 1 over par 71s in the afternoon.
Smith won the under 19 section but also secured the coveted Ken Reddington Memorial for the best performance over the entire field.
Shuttleworth finished 2 over on 144 for the day and won the under 23 and under 21 sections.
Jakob Bleach (St Clair) carded 77 and 75 to win the under 16 section by five shots from Jacob Bellany (Port Chalmers).
The under 14 title went to Waikouaiti's Joseph Hancock which ensured he gained a place in Otago under 16 team to compete in Christchurch next month.
