Difficult day but titles go down to wire

Playoffs were required in three of the four divisions to separate the top players at the 2008 Northland Platinum Homes Men's Champion of Champions Tournament at the Kerikeri Golf Club on Sunday.
Testing conditions on the course - with strong morning wind and persistent afternoon rain - affected the scoring, but not the competitiveness of the players representing their clubs.
Northland No2 Brad Bonnington, representing the Wellsford Golf Club, shrugged off the negative impact of the weather to come out on top after a playoff with Northland Golf Club's Iain Power.
"I managed to birdie the first playoff hole which was a relief really, because I wasn't too keen on going out again once I'd dried off and got changed," Bonnington said.
With no one shooting low scores in the tough conditions, both players finished with 153, after two rounds on the par 73 course, to earn a spot in the playoff.
Conditions worsened during the day, with the rain getting heavier.
"It was very windy to start with, but then the rain started after about nine holes, so it was pretty rough after that," he said.
Bonnington carded a 79 in the first round but turned in a 74 in the afternoon's round - ironically in worse conditions - to take the competition to a playoff.
In the intermediate division (for players with handicaps of 10-17), Sherwood Park's Laurie Fraser was tied on 168 with Kerikeri's Graham Minhinnick, but Fraser emerged as the winner after the playoff.
Due to the conditions, the junior division (handicaps of 17-24) and the D Grade (24+) competition were shortened to 27-hole events. Houhora's Charlie Everitt was the only player to win his competition outright, taking a one-shot lead over the rest of the field with a score of 133 to take the junior title.
Sherwood Park's Nicholas Tausi was awarded the prize for runner-up after a countback among the players a shot further back on 134. Whangaroa's Colin Baldwin beat Wellsford's Peter Cotton on a countback after the pair were tied for the lead after 27 holes on 146, to win the D Grade.