Otago Off To A Flyer Whilst Tournament Favourites Survive First Day

Otago is the only province to record two victories during a topsy-turvy opening day of the Freyberg Masters at Motueka Golf Club.

The southerners beat Hawke’s Bay 4 – 1 this morning before overpowering the 2018 champions Manawatu-Wanganui 5 – 0 this afternoon to take the early ascendency with two match wins and nine game wins.

They started first off the tenth tee and got out of the blocks quickly with a 5&4 victory to the rock at the top, Chris Snow. Otago number three, Andrew Hobbs, followed with a 6&5 victory not long after and John McIntee, the number four for Otago, got over the line 1up. Rodney Krahenbring lost 4&3, Otago’s only dropped game of the day, but number one Paul Hubbard sealed the deal with a win by the same margin.

The masters’ men from the deep south continued their stellar form over round two. They were relentless, getting comfortable wins from number five Chris Snow 4&2, John McIntee and Paul Hubbard at number four and one both won 3&2, while Andrew Hobbs and Rodney Krahenbring both secured narrow 1up victories.

Otago leads North Harbour and Canterbury, who recorded a win and a half in their opening two rounds and won six games a piece.

However, they weren’t the only team turning heads over the opening day.

Last year’s wooden spooners Poverty Bay East Coast gave one of the tournament favourites, Auckland, a scare this afternoon, halving their match by two and a half games each.

Poverty East Coast number five David Solomann secured a pivotal 1up win to get the first point on the board for the men from the sunny East Coast. Auckland hit back with clinical wins from number four James Gardiner 5&4, and Scott Thrupp 3&2. Poverty Bay East Coast number one Anary Reedy got over the line 2&1, with the head-to-head match coming down to the number two’s Dwayne Russell and Auckland’s Roy Hollick.

The pair halved, meaning Poverty Bay East Coast sit in 11th on the table with Auckland sitting a further place behind.

The defending champions, Wellington, got off to a solid start after their bye this morning, recording a solid win over Taranaki, who were confident after their 3 – 2 victory over Aorangi this morning. Wellington sits in ninth.

North Harbour have their number two Scott Robertson to thanks after escaping with a half again their northern neighbours, Northland.

After beating Waikato in the morning 3.5 – 1.5, Robertson got them out of jail by rolling in a 60-foot putt on the final hole in his match to get a half in not only his match but half the overall match too.

For the draw, overall standings, and further tournament information: https://www.golf.co.nz/news-detail?newsarticleid=26690

Individual match results: https://www.golf.co.nz/news-detail?newsarticleid=27569

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