Tasman win quadrangular title

Tasman stayed narrowly ahead of their closest rivals to win their first quadrangular representative golf title at Blenheim's Fairhall course at the weekend.

Tasman's eight-man team ultimately finished one individual game clear of Wellington after both had finished the tournament with two points. Tasman claimed 13 1/2 wins to Wellington's 12 1/2, while Canterbury was third on one point (11 1/2 wins) and North Harbour fourth (9 1/2 wins) after also securing one point.

It was Tasman's first quadrangular triumph since North Harbour joined the contest in 2002 to make it a four-team competition.

"It was a good effort," said Tasman's selection convenor Ken Allan. "They showed good heart, good team spirit and the guys really worked well together."

It couldn't have been tighter after Saturday's opening two rounds, with each team recording a win to leave Canterbury narrowly ahead on nine individual games. Tasman and Wellington shared second place on eight games, with North Harbour on seven.

In the morning rounds, Canterbury beat North Harbour 5 1/2-2 1/2 and Wellington accounted for Tasman 4 1/2-3 1/2, while in the afternoon matches, Tasman and North Harbour both recovered to score identical 4 1/2-3 1/2 wins over Canterbury and Wellington, respectively.

Tasman's fighting qualities were evident against Wellington where, despite Tasman's loss, No6 player Brett Allan fought back from a sizeable deficit to minimise the damage and help keep Tasman firmly in the hunt.

Allan had trailed his opponent, Jonny Dittmer, by three holes with four to play before winning the last four holes to secure a gritty 1 up win over the Wellingtonian.

Brothers Sean and Blair Riordan were also 4 down before they staged fightbacks against Adam Church and Sean Kells, respectively, Sean eventually losing 1 down and Blair 2 and 1. "They just hung in there and showed a lot of ticker," said Allan.

Tasman No3 Hamish Campbell and No7 Nick Ludbrook secured their team's other wins against Wellington, with Campbell beating James Donnelly and Ludbrook beating Peter Grace by identical 4 and 3 margins.

No5 Jason Giblin secured a half with Richard Pegg.

Campbell and Ludbrook were the only two Tasman players to end the weekend with three straight wins.

Campbell also beat Canterbury's Scott Fox 2 and 1 and North Harbour's James Davis 1 up, and Ludbrook beat Canterbury's Owen Burgess 1 up and North Harbour's Andrew Priestly 2 and 1.

The closeness of Saturday's competition ensured a tense final round on Sunday.

Tasman responded with a 5 1/2-2 1/2 win over North Harbour, although it remained tight throughout. Apart from Tasman No4 Ryan Chisnall's 6 and 4 loss to Simon Brownlee, every other game went to either 17 or 18 holes.

With the final result resting on Wellington's clash with Canterbury, Wellington secured the win they were after, but their 4 1/2-3 1/2 victory was not enough to deny Tasman the overall title. All eight Tasman players have been retained for this weekend's South Island interprovincial tournament at Christchurch's Waimairi Beach course.

Results: Saturday am – Canterbury 5 1/2 North Harbour 2 1/2, Tasman 3 1/2 Wellington 4 1/2 (Tasman names first): Brett Allan bt Jonny Dittmer 1 up, James Moselen lost to Carl Tupangaia 4/3, Jason Giblin and Richard Pegg square, Nick Ludbrook bt Peter Grace 4/3, Blair Riordan lost to Sean Kells 2/1, Ryan Chisnall lost to Haupai Puha 2/1, Sean Riordan lost to Adam Church 1 down, Hamish Campbell bt James Donnelly 4/3.

Saturday pm – North Harbour 4 1/2 Wellington 3 1/2, Tasman 4 1/2 Canterbury 3 1/2 (Tasman names first): Allan lost to Tom Turner 3/2, Moselen and Daniel Shin square, Giblin lost to Keelan Kilpatrick 1 down, Ludbrook bt Owen Burgess 1 up, Blair Riordan bt Shaun Jones 3/2, Chisnall lost to Aaron Forsyth 5/4, Sean Riordan bt Scott Ritchie 5/4, Campbell bt Scott Fox 2/1.

Sunday am – Wellington 4 1/2 Canterbury 3 1/2, Tasman 5 1/2 North Harbour 2 1/2 (Tasman names first): Chisnall lost to Simon Brownlee 6/4, Moselen bt James Colligan 2 up, Campbell bt James Davis 1 up, Ludbrook bt Priestly 2/1, Blair riordan by Kevin Budden 2/1, Allan lost to Cameron Jones 2/1, Sean Riordan bt Scott Johnson 2/1, Giblin and Tom Cardno square.

Final placings: Tasman 2 pts 13 1/2 games 1, Wellington 2 12 1/2 2, Canterbury 1 11 1/2 3, North Harbour 1 9 1/2 4.

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