Bay of Plenty will be among the favoured teams to take out The Lion Foundation Freyberg Masters at the Ngamotu Golf Club in New Plymouth this weekend.
The annual event features 15 teams of five golfers from provinces throughout New Zealand competing in an over-40s matchplay contest.
Last year Bay of Plenty went to Waitangi as defending champions but finished fifth. Team manager Ross Fowler is hoping for a better outcome this weekend.
"The expectations are high and the guys have created it through their own performance," he said. "I haven't done that. They know they can win it, they know they are good enough. Like any game of golf, it is just a mental thing. It is on the day, like matchplay golf is. All the teams are good. You never know what you are going to get from year to year.
"Darryn is back after missing last year through work commitments, which strengthens us. It is the same team that won two years ago, except for Tony Hewlett, God bless him, who died just a couple of months after we won in Christchurch. Bryan is our new 'TH'."