The Otago under-19 and under-16 golfers were the toast of Cambridge yesterday when they beat Canterbury 4.5 to 3.5 in the final to win the Junior Interprovincial title.
It is only the second year that the two South Island teams have competed in the coveted event, which has been organised by Waikato Golf for the past 16 years.
It is the first time the title has been won by Otago.
The tournament has been going for 16 years but for 14 of those years, it was just for eight North Island teams.
Over the past two years, the Canterbury and Otago teams have decided to head north for the tournament to help the development of their younger golfers.
Last year Otago finished sixth but it did a lot better this year, and came into the final with a degree of confidence.
During the week, Otago won four of its pool games, with only a loss to Auckland, by a narrow 3.5 to 4.5 margin, in the second round.
The final was a tough tussle with the final result in doubt until Jack Turner (No7) had a final green win and Joseph Hancock (No8) clinched it with the deciding half.
In the battle of the No1 golfers, Inia Logan was in command over Matthew Morris for most of the match but forged in front on the back nine to win with three holes to spare.
Logan had an impressive week with five wins from six matches, which augurs well for his performance in the men's triangular tournament in Invercargill this weekend.
At No2, Sungwoo Han had a tight tussle with Canterbury's Tom Parker but trailed on the back nine, running out of holes on the 17th green.
Harry Smith (No3) had several wins during the week but struggled in the final against Brett Kelly.
His task was made even harder when he looked like getting back into contention but Kelly holed out from a greenside bunker on the 12th hole.
Jakob Bleach turned his form around from the previous day, posting a confident win over Henry Bryden in the battle of the No4 players.
Connor Ross came from two behind on the front nine to win on the 17th green, while Callum Judkins continued to face the top under-16 golfers, going down on the 16th green.
