Auckland holds a narrow lead in the masters' (over 40) men's interprovincial with 3½ points and 15 games after the fourth round played on the Chisholm Links in Dunedin yesterday afternoon.
Aorangi is second, Canterbury third, Waikato fourth and Wellington fifth in a tight tussle between the top teams.
Aorangi has a bye today, while Auckland has its bye tomorrow afternoon, while Canterbury, Waikato and Wellington are in good shape after already sitting a round out.
There will also be a tight tussle for the player of the tournament, with Tony Simpson (Auckland), Blair Murdock, Steve Heberley (both Bay of Plenty), Blair Dibley and Aaron Forsyth (both Canterbury) winning their first four matches.
Otago had a bye yesterday morning and now lies in ninth place with one point and 7½ games.
After the bye, Otago had a tough afternoon against Waikato, leaving No 2 Stephen Hitchcox as the only unbeaten Otago player with two wins and a half.
The team started from the seventh tee in windy conditions which made the long par 3 a testing hole and eventually went down by a 1½ to 3½ margin.
At No 1, Andrew Hobbs made a good start, winning the first two holes from Greg Bell, but trailed by three after losing five of the next nine holes.
Hobbs birdied the 18th hole to stem the tide and won 3 and 4 after driving the par 4 third and two-putting for a birdie.
He went one behind after losing the par 3 fourth hole, but won the fifth and halved the sixth, snatching a half with a strong finish.
Hitchcox started well, chipping in for a birdie two at the seventh, birdieing the eighth and winning the Lawyers Head hole with a par 4 to go three up.
He made it four wins in a row at the par 3 10th and he halved the next four holes with Waikato's Wybo Veldman.
Hitchcox birdied the 15th to increase his lead to five but lost the next hole when he made a bogey.
His lead was reduced to three when Veldman won the first but Hitchcox finished the match on the third with a par 4.
Otago No 3 Peter Rae halved the first two holes but trailled after losing the ninth and 13th hole.
Phil Hunter eagled the par 5 15th to go three ahead and the match see-sawed over the next four holes before the pair halved the next three holes, giving Waikato captain Hunter a 3 and 2 win.
John McIntee went out of bounds on the seventh and he halved the next five holes with Waikato No 4 Andrew McGiven.
But then disaster struck, with McIntee losing five holes in a row to find himself six down.
He fought back, winning the 18th and first holes, but it was too little too late and the match finished on the third green.
Gary Creedy, at No 5, trailed Ken Shea early and lost three holes in a row to be four down with seven holes to play.
He reduced the margin to three, winning the first hole, but lost the fourth, giving Shea the 4 and 2 win.
