Northland's men's golf team members Vaughan Witten (left), Brad Bonnington, Dale Clarke couldn't replicate last year's winning formula in Hastings last week. Photo / Kerry Marshall, BW Media
Northland's men's golf team members Vaughan Witten (left), Brad Bonnington, Dale Clarke couldn't replicate last year's winning formula in Hastings last week. Photo / Kerry Marshall, BW Media
Northland women's golf team are ready to avenge the disappointment of the men's team, who finished 10th at the New Zealand men's interprovincial golf tournament in Hastings last week.
The women's team, made up of Alayna Cox, Shardae Bulkeley, Jenny Peters, Kylie Jacoby and Sjanna Bishop, start their interprovincial competitionin Napier against North Harbour this morning , three days after the men concluded their campaign at Hastings Golf Club.
After winning the competition for the first time in 68 years last year, the men's team of Kadin Neho, Dale Clarke, Brad Bonnington, Taylor Gill and Alex Neely couldn't replicate their 2018 form.
Despite starting well with a win against home team Hawke's Bay, Northland went on to win only once more against Tasman while recording losses to Bay of Plenty, North Harbour and Manawatū/Whanganui, with a draw against Canterbury.
Northland's Kadin Neho holds the pose after a clean swing in Hastings. Photo / Glenn Taylor, BW Media
"I think the guys are fairly disappointed, we just didn't quite win the tight battles like what happened last year," men's team captain Brad Bonnington said.
"We got off to some slow starts which doesn't help and other teams got momentum."
NTaylor Gill (left) and Kadin Neho practise shots out of the bunker. Photo / Glenn Taylor, BW Media
Bonnington, who had played in about 10 interprovincials, said the week was an enjoyable one for the team and he noted they weren't far off the pace from making the semifinals along with perennially strong teams such as Auckland.
The women's team, who have a bye after their first round match against North Harbour today at the Maraenui Golf Club, will play Waikato tomorrow, Bay of Plenty and Canterbury on Thursday, and Tasman on Friday.
Taylor Gill (left) and Kadin Neho practise shots out of the bunker. Photo / Glenn Taylor, BW Media
Women's team captain Kylie Jacoby said yesterday's practise round had the team feeling confident ahead of today's competition start.
"We're all feeling really good, all the girls are in good spirits and we are really looking forward to it," she said.
While the team haven't played together very often before the competition, Jacoby, Bulkeley and Cox had all played on the Maraenui course on Labour weekend and Jacoby was confident they would play well against some stiff opposition.
"The teams are pretty tough like Auckland and North Harbour but on any given day, anyone can win it," she said.
"We've got North Harbour first up and that's always a good battle so we're excited for that, it can go either way."
Jacoby said while the men's team would be disappointed not to defend their title, they should hold their heads high having represented Northland well.
While she was hesitant to jinx anything, Jacoby said it was always her team's goal to come out on top.
