The challenge for the Otago men's golf team will be to improve its stroke play performance in Invercargill this weekend.
If it matches its recent match play successes, Otago will be a top chance at the SBS Golf Invitational tournament on the Otatara course in Invercargill, which starts this morning.
Otago made the semifinals of the Toro interprovincial tournament at North Shore in 2013 and went one further step last year, narrowly losing a tense final to Waikato at St Andrews, in Hamilton.
In addition, Otago won the South Island event at Russley in 2013 and finished second to Canterbury at Westport two weeks ago.
But Otago's stroke play record in the SBS-sponsored event is less impressive, with one solitary win near the end of Otago's golden era in 1980.
Otago's most recent success in the event was two years ago, when the team jumped from 12th place overnight to finish third and receive the bronze medals.
This was in the main due to the magnificent effort of No1 Brent McEwan, who went on to take the individual event with a four round total of 275.
McEwan threatened the tournament record of 273 set in 2007 by Australian amateur Rohan Blizard until he hit his tee shot out of bounds on the penultimate hole.
The only other Otago success on the trophies over the 37 years since the inception of the event, was when Michael Atkinson (now Southland) took the individual title in 1983.
This year McEwan is at the helm playing at No1 and captaining the team with the intention of breaking the drought.
He is ably supported by Nick Borren at No2 and Duncan Croudis at No3 who could both easily fill the top spot if required.
Otago match play champion Chris Snow will play at No4 while former Wellington golfer Fraser MacLachlan will put some sting in the tail.
McEwan has an added incentive to lift his team to victory, as he intends to retire from competitive golf at the end of this year.
Despite some excellent performances over the last 16 years, McEwan is yet to mount the podium as the captain of a winning team.
Another team to be wary of are defending champion Bay of Plenty, while Auckland and Manawatu-Wanganui, who fought out the 2013 title, cannot be dismissed.
Current Toro champion Waikato will be in the mix while the local Southland team and Wellington are without the services of two of their players.
Matt Tautari and Tyler McLean are missing from the local quintet while Wellington has sidelined the Spearman-Burn brothers, Peter and Thomas.
