Snow omitted from Otago side for national interprovincial
THE omission of Chris Snow from the playing five is the feature of the Otago team named yesterday.
The team will compete in the national interprovincial team tournament on the Mangawhai course in Northland next month.
Otago has finished as runnerup in the past three tournaments, losing to Waikato in the 2014 and 2015 finals and Well
ington in New Plymouth last year.
Each time, Snow has played at No 5 and, as first match out each day, steadied the team with some solid performances.
The task of anchoring the team at No 5 now falls on the shoulders of Michael Smith, who has shown some of his best form this year.
Smith was the runaway winner in the 72hole North Otago tournament and he played at No 3 in the South Island event last weekend.
Smith had one of his best tournaments at No 4 in New Plymouth last year and the selectors believe he can repeat this at No 5 this year.
The top two spots in the team were never in doubt with Fraser MacLachlan and Brandon Hodgson obvious choices at No 1 and No 2.
Having regained his amateur status last month, Duncan Croudis will play at No 3 after emerging with two wins and a half in the South Island event last weekend.
Inia Logan, of Wakatipu Junior, will play his third interprovincial, this time at No 4 having been reserve in 2015 and No 3 last year.
Logan spent the winter in Queensland and won through to the final of the Queensland amateur championship against many of Australia’s best players.
He won three of four at No 7 last weekend and is obviously honing his match play skills of late as the national agegroup representative plays a plethora of strokeplay rounds in his role with New Zealand golf.
One can only but feel for Balmacewen’s Michael Ormandy, who has missed selection after some solid performances this year.
Ormandy (30) intends to embark on a professional apprenticeship next February and he put much time and practice with the endeavour of making the top Otago amateur team this year.