Golf: Northland in pole position for Freyberg glory

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It's early days, but Northland may look back on day two as a crucial point in the Freyberg Masters after taking the lead four rounds in at the scenic Waitangi Golf Club.

They snuck past the second most successful team in the event's history, Wellington, (3-2) to keep their winning record going and then eased to a comfortable win over Poverty Bay East Coast.

Northland No2 Peter Bone was the hero for the team. He was four down to John Warrington at one stage but came back to win 2 and 1 in what was the crucial point for Northland.

The home team went on to thrash Poverty Bay (5-0) to leapfrog Auckland and Canterbury to the top with three wins and 12 individual points.

Local hopes are rising that this Northland team can continue their momentum to claim a rare Freyberg Masters win on home soil.

Meanwhile, Auckland kept their chances alive with a gutsy display in defeating one of the favourites, Aorangi, 3-2 in what could prove a decisive contest.

Auckland, the most successful team in the history of the event, are looking for their first win in the championship since 2003.

Bay of Plenty edged 2006 champions Manawatu-Wanganui (3-2) to stay in the hunt, going back-to-back after they halved with North Harbour.

The team from the Bay are in fourth place with two wins and a half and 9.5 individual points.

• The Freyberg Masters is a unique round-robin format where teams play eight of the 14 districts, with the team who gather the most points crowned the champions tomorrow afternoon.

Leaderboard
After Round 4 (team points, individual): Northland: 3, 12; Canterbury: 3, 11; Auckland: 3, 10.5; Bay of Plenty: 2.5, 9.5; Aorangi: 2, 10; Taranaki: 2, 9.5; Manawatu-Wanganui: 2, 8.5; Hawke's Bay: 1.5, 10; Waikato: 1.5, 9; North Harbour: 1.5, 9; Otago: 1.5, 6; Wellington: 1, 9; Southland: 1.5, 5; Tasman: 0.5, 7; Poverty Bay East Coast: 0, 3.