Canterbury No 1 fights back to sink Otago

Andrew Namkoong, the Canterbury No 1, sank a 3m birdie putt on the final green yesterday to halve with Brent McEwan and sink Otago's chance of making this morning's semifinal of the men's interprovincial tournament in Palmerston North.

Otago looked set to beat Canterbury yesterday morning but Namkoong ensured his team a 2 to 2 half result against Otago, which, with 4 points, finished third in the section behind Bay of Plenty and Canterbury.

Taking points and games into consideration, Otago finished fifth this year, a big improvement on last in 2007 and 11th last year.

Some crucial selection decisions and the guidance of coach Ben Gallie have turned Otago's fortunes around and the team looks a real chance for finals day next year.

The match against Canterbury came to a frustrating end when Shaun Jones (Canterbury No 3) birdied the last two holes to grab a half with Andrew Hobbs.

Duncan Croudis, the Otago No 2, retained his unbeaten record but had to sink a 2m birdie putt on the final green to secure his third half of the event.

McEwan was three up on Namkoong at the turn but the Canterbury player came back in style on the homeward run.

He got back to square with McEwan going to the final hole, but the Otago player holed a 6m birdie putt which looked as if it would seal things for his team, before Namkoong potted his ball.

Otago made a strong finish, beating North Harbour by 3 to 1 in the afternoon.

McEwan won by 2 and 1, while Hobbs finished two ahead on the final green.

Croudis turned square and, after three halved matches, shook the monkey off his shoulder with a strong back nine.

He beat Kevin Budden by 3 and 2, while Michael Minty looked set to lose on the final green but got out with a half when James Davis' 1m putt horseshoed out of the cup on the final green.

Meanwhile, Auckland rose from the ashes yesterday to qualify for today's semifinals.

It won both its round-robin games at Manawatu Golf Club to top its division after frontrunner Wellington and Hawkes Bay both lost yesterday afternoon.

In the end, Wellington sneaked through as the second qualifier on countback of games from Hawkes Bay by just half an individual game.

Defending champion Bay of Plenty stormed through unbeaten in its division and will meet Wellington in the semifinals, after beating Wellington in the finals in 2007 and 2008.

Canterbury plays Auckland in the other semifinal after the former squared its morning match with Otago then stormed into the semifinals with four wins and a half against Northland in the afternoon.

Wellington and Hawkes Bay halved their match in the morning, meaning both sides needed only a half or better in the final round to progress to the semifinals and shut out Auckland.

But Wellington was never in the game, losing to Waikato 3 to 1.

Hawkes Bay found itself on the receiving end of things 3-2 against Tasman, which meant it finished half an individual game behind Wellington for the final semifinal spot and gave Wellington a lifeline it thought had disappeared.

Auckland, which had a shock loss on the second day, fought back with impressive wins yesterday over Taranaki, 4-1, and Manawatu-Wanganui, 3 to 1.