OTAGO HAS A SCORE TO SETTLE
GOLF
OTAGO will be hoping to finally get over the line when the national provincial championships start in Auckland today.
The tournament draws the best amateur players in the country and Otago will be hoping it can go one better than last year.
The side made it through to the final in Hawke’s Bay but lost 50 to Auckland. It has made the final four times in the past six years but come up short every time.
Otago No 2 Brandon Hodgson will head into his seventh championships this week and is hoping he can get Otago over the line. He has played in three of the four tournaments in which Otago has lost the final although he had to miss the final day last year, returning south for a wedding.
Hodgson said although every team wanted to win, it was a very hard tournament to come out on top.
‘‘I think a lot of people do not realise how hard it is to win. A lot of the golfers who are lining up are basically fulltime golfers, just waiting to go professional,’’ Hodgson said.
‘‘While you look at our team and we are pretty much all workers. Guys who have jobs to go to every day.’’
Hodgson, who works as a carpet layer, said that made no
difference when the players reached the opening tees.
Competition to make the Otago team is tough and the side has depth from No 1 Inia Logan, of Cromwell, to the experienced Duncan Croudis, leading the team out at at No 5.
The 31yearold said the advantage of the side was any one of the five players could play at the top of the order and do well.
Hodgson, a member of the Otago Golf Club coached by Shelley Duncan, is married to Katherine and has 15monthold daughter Olivia,
Hodgson feels he is striking the ball well but has had something of a bumpy leadup to the tournament.
He had his tonsils out a few months ago and took a while to recover, ending up losing about 6kg and having some time off the course.
But he is right now and keen to have a good tournament.
‘‘I’m really looking forward to it. Fizzing really since I was named, counting down the days and it has come round quite fast . . . the things with the way it is played, there is only five guys out there so every position is critical.
‘‘I suppose when you play at No 2 there is a bit more scoreboard pressure on. But I like that pressure.’’
The 15 provinces are split into two divisions and Otago appears to have drawn the slightly easier pool. Auckland, Wellington and Bay of Plenty are in the other pool. Southland is in the same pool as Otago but the teams do not play each other.
The tournament will be played at Whitford Park Golf Club, in south Auckland with the finals day on Saturday.