Manawatu¯-Whanganui qualify for semifinals

A thrilling win over Wellington has secured Manawatu¯ -Whanganui the last semifinal spot at the women’s interprovincial golf championship.

Their No 2 Zhuoyi Hu chipped in to secure the win in Christchurch yesterday and set up a match with Auckland.

They have not won the interprovincial title since 1960, and benefited from the experience of New Zealand Golf selector Lisa Herbert, who claimed a vital point on the last hole as they won the effective playoff 3-2.

Canterbury will play North Harbour in the other semifinal.

North Harbour took Auckland to the wire in their final round-robin match, but eventually lost 3-2 to the 24-time champions, though their No 1 Silvia Brunotti rested ahead of the semifinals.

Canterbury remain undefeated as they hunt for an eighth title, beating Bay of Plenty 4-1.

Three players maintain a 100 per cent record heading into today’s matches – Auckland’s Carmen Lim and Miree Jung and Canterbury’s Catherine Bell – while Darae Chung of Wellington is also undefeated, halving one of her six matches.

Auckland’s semifinal against Manawatu¯ -Whanganui begins at 7.30am with the Canterbury-North Harbour match to follow at 8.05am.