Cody Harper (Invercargill) shot rounds of 67 and 72 to take the senior gross prize in the Wanaka men's tournament over 36 holes in Wanaka on Saturday.
He finished two shots ahead of Simon Hollyer who relished the prospect of playing on his home course scoring 74 and 67 to lead the Otago triallists.
Harper and Hollyer were the only players to score sub-par rounds on the par-69 course plagued by rain and wet greens which made scoring difficult.
Otago No 1 Brent McEwan (St Clair) finished three shots off the pace for third while Mat Tautari (Queens Park) and Blair Dibley (Arrowtown) shared fourth on 144.
Hollyer finished as the fourth amateur at Chisholm Park a week ago and, with a 5-over-par morning round, looked set to finish down the order.
But he holed his wedge on the par-5 third hole for an eagle 3 which kick-started his afternoon round.
Central Otago golfers made the most of playing at home with six players finishing in the top nine places. In particular, the form shown by two juniors augurs well for the future, with Ryan Shuttleworth (Wanaka) coming in sixth and Samson Kim (Queenstown) a further shot back in a tie for seventh.
The Otago players have not had easy scoring conditions during the first three trials with an early frost in Roxburgh, winds at Chisholm Park and incessant rain in Wanaka.
The golfers will be looking for a better climate when they compete in the 72-hole spring tournament on the North Otago course next weekend.
