Otago faced a barrage of birdies in losing 5-3 to North Harbour in the morning but recovered to down Eastland (formerly Poverty Bay-East Coast) 7- in the second round of the junior interprovincial tournament in fine conditions at Cambridge yesterday.
The top four Otago players all suffered losses in the morning and it was the Otago under-16 players at the tail who kept North Harbour's winning margin close.
No 5 Connor Ross and No 8 Terry Kim had two wins yesterday while No 7 Jake Bleach remained unbeaten with a win and a half.
The leading three Harbour players were too good for the leading Otago trio. Otago No 1 Sungwoo Han was up against an eagle and three birdies as he lost on the 13th green.
At No 2, Conor Jamison's par round failed to match Mark Hutson's 4-under and he lost his morning match 4 and 3.
But the lowest score of the morning was an 8-under-par 64 by Harbour's Chang-Gi Lee, meaning Otago No 3 Cody McMullan's 2-under 70 still left him four down with three to play.
The afternoon opponent was not nearly as tough and the Otago eight romped to a convincing win with a game tally which could prove crucial in deciding the playoffs.
Canterbury, the only other South Island team in the event, had a good day, halving with Northland and Waikato on the first day.
The event pits Otago's juniors against many of New Zealand's top juniors who will represent their provinces in the senior event.
After a comfortable second-round win, Otago will face a barrage of fire at the hands of Bay of Plenty in the third round this morning.
The Bay is the defending champion and had impressive wins over strong Waikato and Manawatu-Wanganui teams yesterday.
