Golf: Deam day as HBPB nail win

Tessa McDonald (right) had an easy victory yesterday. Others are her caddy, Liz Reed (left), HBPB team manager Sue Sowerby, Jaimie McIvor (obscured), and her caddy/mother, Wendy. PHOTO/BWMEDIA

IT WASN'T something Sara Deam was used to but, you could say, quite a few things were going her way in Ashburton yesterday.

Besides, the 24-year-old amateur isn't the type to desert the kitchen when the heat becomes intense.

So Deam bit her lower lip, played up and down the 18th hole fairway and soaked up the hugs and kisses from her fellow Hawke's Bay-Poverty Bay contingent at the Asahburton golf course to secure a 3-2 victory over Southland.

"I was one up coming to the last hole," said the Napier Golf Club member who was playing at No4 against Helen Baird after the pair had halved the 17th hole.
Deam parred the par 4 hole while Baird bogeyed although another half would have seen the sides share the glory.

"She didn't hit her second shot too well while I took mine close to the green and went up and down," said the HBPB five handicapper.

In all fairness, she stressed she wasn't accustomed to that sort of pressure because generally the three seeds tend to finish after her.

"It's not the pressure situation I'm used to. It's more the sort of thing Kate and Jaimie do so I'm new in that situation where the match depends on you," she said.

No5 Tessa McDonald, of Gisborne, beat Anne Osmond after her opponent withdrew with a back ailment while the former was two up after five holes.

As Deam moved from No17 to the No18 tee-off mound McDonald and team manager Sue Sowerby were furiously relaying hand signal messages to Deam about the success of top seed Kate Chadwick who beat Robyn Pullar 4 and 3.

She was aware that No 2 Janie Field and No3 Jaimie McIvor had bowed out by a similar don't-argue margin to Angela Gerken and Olivia Frost, respectively, well before Chadwick's victory.

Sara Deam

Nevertheless, Deam wasn't short of advice and encouragement from her remaining teammates as she clinically took control of the last hole.

"It kind of gave me a little boost because I didn't want to let the team down so, you can say, it was kind of good pressure, if you know what I mean."

Needless to say, it came down to swallowing a healthy dose of self-belied, which is something Deam will always treasure for future knife-edge battles.

"It was nerve racking but everyone just saying breathe easy, be calm, girl, stay cool."

Oh was Deam ever. She did all that and more with aplomb for only the second victory in the tournament for HBPB.

"I had had a good half on No17 so the worst I could have done in the last hole was halved it."

She never doubted that her teammates would have come down on her like a ton of bricks had she not won "because we're not that type of team, no matter what".

HBPB find themselves in a similar position today, playing for 9th-10th place against Wellington after finishing ninth last year.

The players, who visited Orana Wildlife Park for some down time yesterday afternoon, are quietly confident of winning today.

After Canterbury, North Harbour and Bay of Plenty all made the playoff cut on Thursday, Waikato ended the suspense yesterday with a 4-1 victory over powerhouses Auckland.

Canterbury play North Harbour while Waikato face Bay of Plenty in the semifinals this morning.

After winning four Interprovincials in a row, Auckland came up short.

Waikato No 2 Brooke Hamilton showed class under pressure to be the stand-out performance defeating Rose Zheng 4 and 3.

"It feels awesome. Best feeling ever, especially beating Auckland who have won it four years in a row," Hamilton, who was playing in only her second interprovincial, told New Zealand Golf media manager George Harper jnr.

"I won a few holes early which relieved some pressure and allowed me to cruise in the back nine but finished it off well."

"We were all ready to win as soon as we teed off. We knew it was going to be hard, but wow it was awesome," said the 17-year-old. "The girls just have to take the same attitude into tomorrow and hopefully next time we talk I will be even happier."

For Auckland there was only ever one goal in mind and that was to clinch a a fifth consecutive crown.

They have been slightly off the pace this week and it showed again yesterday.