Tasman has a strong lineup, with brothers Sean (No 1) and Blair (No 3) Riordan from Takaka supported by one of New Zealand's top juniors, Ryan Chisnall (16), at No 4.
With a bye this afternoon, Otago needs to get points and games on the board in the opening round.
Otago manager Ben Gallie said he was feeling confident after his team competed so well in the South Island team event.
"We had a good camp before coming up here and there is a good feeling amongst the players," he said.
"But we are relatively inexperienced with Duncan Croudis having played twice before and Michael Smith once, while Hamish Ireland, Simon Hollyer and reserve Tyrone Ratahi will all be making their debut at this level."
The linksland Paraparaumu course is very dry and it is exposed to strong winds which could be a leveller.
But Gallie is pleased with the venue as the Otago players are all good ball strikers and, in particular, Brent McEwan and Hollyer hit the ball low which will be a bonus in the wind.
There are no easy matches in men's golf at this level but Otago is expected to beat Taranaki tomorrow morning and Manawatu-Wanganui in the final round on Friday.
Otago meets a strong Waikato team tomorrow afternoon and has little respite in Thursday's only round when it meets Auckland.
But by far the toughest test will come on Friday morning against Bay of Plenty, which has won the event for the last three years.
New Zealand's leading amateur Ben Campbell, fourth in the recent world championships, will be a major force behind Wellington's push for hometown success.
The Masterton-based Campbell will play at No 1 for Wellington in his first interprovincial outing.
Wellington has not won the battle for provincial pride in men's golf for a decade and will be hoping that Campbell's appearance, alongside fellow Eisenhower Trophy team-mate Peter Spearman-Burn, will be the tipping point.
It has been thwarted in recent years by Bay of Plenty, losing the final to the Bay in 2007 and 2008 and pipped 3-2 in the semifinals last year.
Campbell and Spearman-Burn are joined by Adam Church, 2008 national strokeplay champion James Betts and talented lefthander Tom Brocklesby.
Wellington is in division two along with Canterbury, Hawkes Bay, North Harbour, Southland, Aorangi and Poverty Bay.
It faces a stern first-up test this morning against a strong Hawkes Bay lineup that includes New Zealand representatives Nick Gillespie, Daniel Pearce and Pieter Zwart.
Bay of Plenty will be the team to overcome.
After waiting 50 years to win for the first time, the Bay has gone one to win six times in eight years.
Despite team changes, it seems to produce teams of strength and resilience.
There is only one change to its winning team from Palmerston North last year with 18-year-old Tauranga left-hander Sam Davis in for Ben Taylor who is chasing the paid ranks.
There is a change at the top with New Zealand strokeplay champion Brad Kendall swapping top spot for Andrew Stewart.
It is favourite in division one, which includes Auckland, Otago, Tasman, Waikato, Manawatu Wanganui, Northland and Taranaki.
Section play runs from today to Friday with the semifinals and final on Saturday.
