GOLF - Golfers still have a shot at title

Northland remained in the hunt for New Zealand golf's interprovincial title when they teed off against neighbours North Harbour, at Greenacres Golf Course in Nelson this morning.
The inexperienced side have punched above their weight at the championships that started on Tuesday, beating Aorangi 4-1 yesterday and scoring an impressive half against Hawke's Bay on Wednesday.
The results left them in good shape for a place in tomorrow's semifinal but the team needed to overcome two big hurdles in the form of Harbour this morning and Taranaki this afternoon to do it.
Harbour won't be an easy target, they beat Hawke's Bay yesterday 3-2 in a thriller after trailing for most of the round and Northland will be trying to take them by surprise.
Close competition is nothing new at interprovincials and this year has produced the usual number of upsets results.
"Everyone seems to be knocking each other over or at least getting quite close to each other," Northland manager Graeme Hill said.
"We know we can do it [beat Harbour] but you always get tough opponents down here, you've got to shoot par to win your matches and sometimes under-par," he added.
If they can pull off an improbable win this morning, Northland then face a winless but wounded Taranaki.
"They're a good side, much better than their results have shown, they've lost three matches on the 18th already this week and will be looking to finish strongly," Hill said.
None of the Northland players lost yesterday with Brett Dormer hanging on after trailing for most of the round to earn a halve by winning the final hole. Reserve Gene Wintle scored his first result of the championships, earning a half against Mike Davies, while the other three players Gary-John Hill, Brad Bonnington and Gavin Welsh all won their matches.
Against Hawke's Bay, Bonnington and Dormer had wins with Hill earning a half in the number-one match against Nick Gillespie.
There are five teams including Northland still in the hunt in Division One. Unbeaten tournament favourites Bay of Plenty lead the group and were untroubled in beating Taranaki 4-1 yesterday.
The highlight of the win was a brilliant finish by former Taranaki No 1 Troy Ropiha, who came from three-down to square his match with current Taranaki No1 Brad Hayward, by firing an eagle and three birdies in his last four holes.
Harbour are also unbeaten, with Southland and Hawke's Bay, despite their defeat yesterday, still a chance.
Wellington and Waikato lead the table in Division Two but nothing was certain going into the final day. Three other teams Otago, Tasman and Manawatu all remain within striking distance of the semifinals.
Waikato and Wellington will clash tomorrow morning