Otago has gone to the top of the table in its division but nothing is for certain at the national provincial championships in Auckland.
Otago beat Tasman yesterday 3-2 and with Taranaki going down 4-1 to Canterbury, the Otago side is now top of its division.
All sides played in the morning and then took a break in the afternoon.
Otago got its win yesterday through number five Duncan Croudis, who had a commanding 7 and 5 win over Josh Simpson and Callum Judkins who beat Brook Hale 4 and 3, while Brandon Hodgson had his first win of the week, beating Matthew Grimes 3 and 2.
Jacob Bellamy lost 3 and 2 to Blair Bain and Inia Logan lost 2 and 1 to Kameron Clarke, although the victory was already confirmed before Logan’s match had finished.
Croudis played solidly around the Whitford Park course, getting away early to a lead and never troubled. He had the bonus of having Queenstown professional James Anstiss on his bag.
The weather was ideal for golf after the torrential rain on Wednesday and Otago played well on the tight course.
It had halved its first match on Tuesday and then won its next three matches by the score of 3-2. It was not smashing teams but doing enough to win.
The competition is very tight and Otago has Canterbury and Manawatu-Wanganui left to play today in the final two rounds.
If it beats Canterbury this morning, it will be through to finals day. But Canterbury and Manawatu-Wanganui won yesterday, and along with Taranaki are just half a point behind Otago. Taranaki has a bye tomorrow afternoon.
Southland is fifth in the top division but only half a point away from the leaders, and not out of the running.
The top two in each division make the semifinals tomorrow morning before the final in the afternoon.
