Bill Trewern

Brent McEwan was the toast of Otago and New Zealand golf on Sunday night after posting an impressive winning score in the Southland Invitational tournament over 72 holes on the Otatara course, in Invercargill.

Peter Lee (Rotorua) birdied the last three holes of his third round yesterday morning for a 5-under-par 66 to all but clinch the South Island men's title with one round to play at St Clair.

Munchin Keh (Titirangi) is well on track to emulate the feats of Lydia Ko after posting a convincing eight-shot win in the women's South Island championship which was played over four rounds at St Clair during the weekend.

Victor Janin (Rotorua) has returned to Dunedin where, on his last visit, he beat Junior Tahana on the second hole of a sudden-death play-off to win the men's interprovincial title for Bay of Plenty at Balmacewen in December.

It was a most successful three days for Compton Pikari (Waikato) who followed his New Zealand foursomes win on Friday with an 11-under-par, four-round total of 277 at Mount Maunganui during the weekend.

Otago's leading players, Brent McEwan (St Clair) and Michael Smith (Otago), shot rounds of 69 and 73 to finish in second place in the New Zealand foursomes championship at the Mt Maunganui course yesterday.

Kayne Wardell is the first golfer from the small Allan Grange golf club, near Clydevale, to be selected in an Otago representative team.

Brent McEwan (St Clair) defended his Otago strokeplay title with a 4-under-par total of 280 in fine conditions at Balmacewen during the weekend.

Places are up for grabs in the Otago team to play in the interprovincial in Invercargill next month when 70 golfers tee off in the Otago strokeplay championship at Balmacewen this morning.

Two key results, which many pundits described as ''upsets'', have set the scene for some exciting golf in the final three rounds of the Toro women's interprovincial tournament which continues with rounds five and six at St Clair today.

Former St Clair golfer Thomas Campbell is determined to continue his professional career when he returns to the NGA (National Golf Association) tour in the United States.

Auckland successfully defended its New Zealand interprovincial title by beating Wellington 3 to 2 in a tight tussle on the St Clair course on Saturday.

Bay of Plenty will be out to emulate its winning men's team when the women play Auckland in a national interprovincial semifinal today.

Renee Fowler, coach of the Wellington women's team, has noticed a vast difference in the national interprovincial tournament since she made her debut as a 14-year-old at the Christchurch course 20 years ago.

With several teams still in contention in each pool, the final pool round of the women's interprovincial tournament looks set to provide the most excitement of the week.

Shelley Duncan (Otago) and Gina Scott (Waikato) are old friends but yesterday afternoon became foes when the professionals coached opposing teams in the sixth round of the women's interprovincial at St Clair.

Phillip Bungard, a shop assistant at the St Clair golf shop, is jumping out of his skin to get back to playing competitive golf.