Golf: Facer star in strong start for Otago

Otago made an impressive start on day one of the men's interprovincial team tournament which began in difficult conditions in Palmerston North yesterday.

In what Otago manager Ben Gallie described as "weird conditions", Otago beat Aorangi 3-1 in the morning and headed Northland 3-2 in the afternoon to lead the way in division one from Aorangi, defending champion Bay of Plenty and surprise package Poverty Bay-East Coast.

Incessant rain delayed play for several hours and the Otago team did not finish on the first day until 7.30pm.

"There was one club-length placing everywhere, including the rough, which is unheard of in any other competition," Galle said.

"There were some interesting results with Wellington held to a half by Taranaki while Southland lost to Aorangi which sets the scene for a very close contest.

"Weather was a great leveller which should provide for some very interesting clashes during the next few rounds."

Otago No 1 Brent McEwan held the early lead but was putted off the course on the final four holes to lose to Tim Leonard in the morning.

But in the afternoon he made no race of it, beating Northland's Brad Bonnington 5 and 3.

In the absence of Duncan Croudis, Andrew Hobbs played solidly at No 2 in the opening round to beat Daniel Perham in 17 holes.

But the tables were turned in the afternoon when he went down to Northland's Brett Dormer by 3 and 2.

Promoted to No 3, Mitch Bosley halved with Simon Wright (Aorangi) in the morning but lost on the final green to Northland's Tony Mayo in the afternoon.

Michael Minty had two impressive wins for the day, beating New Zealand selector Peter Hayes 4 and 3 in the morning and heading Northland's Martin Duff 5 and 3 in the afternoon.

But the player of the first day was Thomas Facer (16) who notched two valuable wins for Otago on debut.

He played par golf in the morning to beat Regan Stills 6 and 5 and, after trailing early, birdied four of the last holes to beat Peter Morgan on the final green.

Hawkes Bay was the only other team to achieve two wins yesterday.

Hawkes Bay dominated Waikato 4-1 in the morning and edged out one of the pre-tournament favourites, Auckland, 3-2 in the afternoon.

It leads division host Manawatu-Wanganui and Auckland.

Despite the inclement weather, it was a day of considerable highlights, including the morning victory by minnow Poverty Bay-East Coast, which beat Northland 3-2 for its first win in four years.

The key was the winning effort from stalwart Micah Bremner, who coincidentally won the deciding match in its 2005 victory over Southland.

The match of the day was the last to finish, nearly in the dark, with Hawkes Bay beating a strong Auckland combination 3-2.

The match was decided when former Auckland representative Leighton James beat international Ben Wallace on the last hole of the last game.

The Aucklander went out of bounds after driving into the trees.

Manawatu-Wanganui, 12th last year, made a strong start with a win in the morning over Taranaki but it was held to a 2-2 draw in the afternoon by Tasman when Hamish Campbell birdied the last hole to claim a crucial half against local player Ewan Westergaard.

Round-robin play continues to Friday with the semifinals and final on Saturday.