Comeback victory keeps Wellington afloat
A cool-headed comeback from New Zealand strokeplay champion Kerry Mountcastle secured Wellington a stunning victory over Waikato to keep their men’s interprovincial semifinal hopes alive in Christchurch.
One of the country’s top amateurs, Mountcastle won four of the last six holes in the No 2 match against Waikato’s Jordan Woodall to secure the final point and a 3-2 victory at Clearwater Golf Club.
It saw Wellington remain unbeaten after five rounds, level on points with Manawatu¯ -Whanganui and Canterbury in division one.
Manawatu¯ -Whanganui lead Canterbury and Wellington on matches won, but have just one match remaining with a bye today with just two of those sides progressing to tomorrow’s semifinals.
After 12 holes Mountcastle was three down before making his move to win three holes in a row and bring the match back to all square.
As the galleries grew, they finally got to witness a match coming down to the final hole before Woodall’s errant tee shot found the lake on the left to end a thrilling match.
Canterbury continued their winning ways with a vital 3-2 victory over North Harbour to firm up their semifinal berth and essentially end the defending champions’ hopes.
In division two, Auckland again showed their class to dispatch Tasman. The young side continued to show it is genuine threats this year and sit four from four and is almost certain to make the semifinals.
Auckland have been led well by their top two players with Jared Edwards undefeated, claiming 3.5 of his four points available, while young gun Jang Hyun Lee has won all four of his matches.
Chasing the one remaining place in their division is Northland and Otago who are neck and neck in the standings.
This morning will prove decisive with Northland coming up against Auckland in an exciting matchup.
The first of the final two rounds tees off at 7:30am.
Points after five rounds: Division one: Manawatu¯ -Whanganui 3.5 (15), Canterbury 3.5 (13.5), Wellington 3.5 (13.0), North Harbour 2.0 (13.0), Bay of Plenty 1.5 (8.5), Aorangi 1.5 (7.5), Waikato 1.0 (11.0), Poverty Bay-East Coast 0.5 (3.5). Division two: Auckland 4.0 (15.5), Northland 3.0 (15.0), Otago 2.5 (10.0), Tasman 2.0 (9.5), Southland 2.0 (8.5), Taranaki 1.5 (8.5), Hawke’s Bay 0.0 (6.0).