Wellington dominate Man-wang in rep opener
Manawatu-wanganui were given a towelling in their first representative outing of the season.
Manawatu-wanganui were well beaten in the senior men, senior women, junior boys and masters men in their fixture at Otaki on Sunday.
It was a first at Otaki for the fixture, which is usually held at Levin, but it will now alternate between the two courses, giving each side a home game every second year.
That meant the course was unfamiliar to a lot of the Manawatu-wanganui golfers and it was played in wet conditions, after morning rain.
Wellington thrashed Manawatu-wanganui 20-4 in the senior men’s competition, with No 10 Matt Francis the only one to win in the morning, beating George Barralet 1up, and Wellington led 11-1 after the morning round.
In the afternoon No 1 Regan Cording won 1up over Josef Edge, Liam Finlayson beat Kerry Mountcastle 3 and 2, and Greg Shaw won 2 and 1 over Ryan Fahey. No 1 Junior Tatana was a late injury withdrawal for Manawatu-wanganui and he was replaced by reserve Cory Higgs.
The Manawatu-wanganui women were beaten 12 1/2-3 1/2.
Wanganui youngster Tara Raj had two wins, beating Darae Chung 3 and 2 in the morning, then Erika Cui 1up in the afternoon. Mudra Lakhani had the other win, 1up over Anita Harkerss, and Lisa Cotton halved with Kellie Orchard.
In the junior boys Wellington won 8 1/2-3 1/2, where Kaleb Idemaru had two wins, beating Jordan Burgess 3 and 2, and Trey Shedlock 1up.
Cameron Giddens won 1up against Cooper Wattam after being five down and Anthony Iltonmaher halved his match against Burgess.
It was the same scoreline in the men’s masters, where Wellington won 8 1/2-3 1/2.
Ross Geary had a win in the morning, 3 and 2 against Marty Veale, then in the afternoon, Mike Mcsherry beat Myles Averns 2 and 1, and Simon Fowler beat Marty Veale 2 and 1.
Rick Harding halved with Wellington’s Mark Whalen.
Fowler was a last-minute replacement for Phil Hooper.
Manawatu-wanganui selectors will get two more chances to look at players at the Wanganui Open on August 20, then the Horowhenua Open the following weekend.
The Horowhenua Open at Levin was postponed last month because the course was too wet.
The Manawatu-wanganui men then play Hawke’s Bay at Dannevirke on September 2, then the Shand Cup is on October 7 and 8.
The Shand Cup (men) and Sybil Green Salver (women) is at Boulcott’s Farm Heritage Golf Club in Lower Hutt.