Golf: Chisholm Park left to rue finish against Otago Blue

Chisholm Park can only lament a disastrous finish in the team's match against Otago Blue at Balmacewen on Saturday which has almost certainly brought to an end its chance of getting into the playoffs in the senior A pennant competition.

Leading by a 4 to 2 margin with one hole to play, Chisholm Park looked set to cause an upset but five of the six Blue golfers won the final hole for a three point and 2.5 game turnaround.

The winning 4.5 margin has guaranteed defending champion Otago Blue a home semifinal, while even if the Chisholm golfers beat Island Park on Saturday a paucity of games is likely to bring their campaign to an end.

Island Park lies in third place but needs to beat Chisholm Park in the final round to retain this ranking, while the winner of the next Saturday's match between Otago Gold and Taieri will make the semifinal should Island Park lose or draw.

The dramatic turnaround at Balmacewen came when No1 Nick Borren and No5 Jason Hughes won the final hole to post slender wins over Peter Rae and Sean Geary respectively.

But Branson Hodgson (No3), Tyrone Ratahi (No4) and Daniel Elder (No5) also won the final hole to come from behind and halve their matches.

At No2, Duncan Croudis was dominant beating Brent Butler on the 14th green to ensure none of the Otago Blue golfers was beaten.

St Clair ensured a home final easily beating Taieri by a convincing 5 to 1 margin, No2 Jakob Bleach and No6 Tony Giles romped home with five holes to spare.

On Saturday, St Clair will have a meaningless match against Otago Blue but it may give some indication of what might eventuate in the July final.

At Island Park, the home team was too strong for Otago Gold which has lost momentum in recent rounds while playing away from home.

Captain Michael Minty carded an eagle and two birdies, finishing 4 under to beat Murray Edgar on the 12th green.

Gary Creedy (No6) also posted a convincing margin over Gold's Chris Timms, while the Park's other successes came from narrow wins to Regan Cairns and Kelly Adam, and No2 Nicholas James halved with Gold's Harry Smith.

Island Park had a chance of closing out the race for the semifinal berth in a catch up game yesterday but went down to Otago Blue by 5 to 1 on the Waldronville course.

Once again, Minty, at No1, was the star for the local team, beating Jason Hughes by 6 and 5 but the other five matches went to the Balmacewen golfers.