Otago downed Southland 3 to 2 yesterday to finish with five points and 14.5 games at the national interprovincial, and will now play Northland for seventh and eighth places this morning.
The win was far from a foregone conclusion and there were some tense moments before Otago posted two wins and two halves to edge ahead.
Laura Hoskin found Southland No. 1 Robyn Pullar a tough adversary, trailing by two after going out of bounds at the sixth hole.
Hoskin missed the greens with her approaches on the ninth and 10th holes and went four down when she failed to get up and down.
She made a birdie on the 15th hole to keep the game alive but the match finished one hole later when Hoskin three-putted on the 16th green.
Otago No 2 Jo Hicks-Beach turned one ahead of Angela Gerkin and went two up with three holes to go to be in the driving seat.
But a loss to a par at the 16th reduced her lead to one and the pair halved the 17th in pars.
Hicks-Beach three-putted the final green to lose the hole and halve the match but this half was vital as it gave Otago the team win.
Shani Arona had a close battle with Olivia Frost but won the eighth and ninth holes to turn two up.
But her lead was short-lived when she lost two of the first three homeward holes to get back to square.
Neither player took command on the back nine but Arona sank a vital 1.5m putt on the last green to secure Otago's second half.
Liz McRae, having passed her century of games for Otago on a tough Thursday, settled in well for a good win over Anne Osment.
McRae turned one up and birdied the 13th hole to lead by two, eventually winning 3 and 1.
Susan Greig, the Otago No 5, turned one ahead of Jenna Gainford and had a close battle to be square with two holes to play.
Greig struck bunker trouble on the 17th but rammed in a 3m putt for a win to be one up playing the final hole.
The pair halved the final hole in pars giving Greig the win.
Meanwhile, the favourites all progressed to the final four yesterday, APNZ reported.
Defending champion North Harbour booked its place as the top team in division one when it beat Wellington 4-1 to be the only unbeaten team in that group, with host Bay of Plenty joining it in the final four.
Auckland, the 2009 champion, outlasted Waikato 3-2 in their round seven match to top its group, but both teams made it through.
