Wightman the right man to lead charge

Northland could be forgiven for treating this year's Toro New Zealand Men's Interprovincial championships at the Paraparaumu Beach Golf Club as a tournament to blood their new players.
But the team were positive - even bullish - before they flew down to Wellington yesterday.
Team manager Roy Pelsky said the players and team officials had discussed what they wanted from the tournament.
"Our goal is to reach the semifinals - we've talked about it and that's what we're going for - and anything that happens after that will be a bonus," he said.
On the face of it, the Northland team lacks experience in matchplay at this level but the inclusion of 14-year-old Kadin Neho, who will play at No5, and 15-year-old reserve Sean Masters, wasn't a decision taken lightly.
"I think they could surprise, Sean's definitely going to get some game time even though he's going as the travelling reserve - he'll get a game or two - and Lee's now got some experience under his belt. I think we've definitely got the potential to surprise and I'm hopeful that we will," he said.
With a third teenager, Lee Neumann, in the team playing at No4, extra onus for the success of the team will fall on the team's more experienced players but Pelsky believes they are up to it.
The combination of Scott Wightman - back playing for Northland for the first time in five years - and Brad Bonnington at No1 and No2 makes Northland a big threat to the more favoured teams at this week's tournament.
"With the likes of Scott and Brad at No1 and No2, we will be competitive against anyone in the country - they could beat anybody on their day - and if you get those two games then you've only got to get one more [for the win]," he said.
The team didn't perform as well as they had hoped in the recent Garrard Shield at Waitangi but showed their potential with a memorable win over Waikato, one of the strongest provinces in the country, at the the annual quadrangular tournament.
Last year was a frustrating one for Northland as they struggled in wet, heavy conditions in Palmerston North.
"We didn't do that well, we only had one or two wins but we were close a few times but failed to finish them off," he said.
The aim is to push on this year and cause a couple of upsets by winning the close games.
"Potentially we've got a good chance, we've got Scott Wightman back and Brett [Dormer] is a seasoned campaigner and you can always rely on Brad to play well and I think Kadin might surprise a few people," he said.
The team left for Wellington yesterday and they were planning to get a round in on the Paraparaumu Beach course yesterday afternoon before the official practise day today.
The links course is one of the best in the country but will take some getting used to and none of the team have played there before.
"It's not an easy course, I went down there when Tiger Woods played the New Zealand Open [in 2002], and I walked the course then. It's a top class course - one of the best in the country - and also one of the tougher courses the interprovincial has been held on," Pelsky said.
"We've got a few players who play links golf pretty well like Brett Dormer and Sean Masters, and Scott Wightman's from Mangawhai, so they've got experience in those conditions.
"So hopefully playing there will work in our favour," he said.
Bay of Plenty will be looking to make it four titles in a row this week with Auckland seen as their most likely challengers.
The tournament starts tomorrow.
 
NORTHLAND DRAW
Round 1 - Tuesday (am) v Manawatu-Wanganui
Round 2 - Tuesday (pm) v Auckland
Round 3 - Wednesday (am) v Bay of Plenty
Round 4 - Wednesday (pm) v Tasman
Round 5 - Thursday (am) v Waikato
Round 6 - Friday (am) bye
Round 7 - Friday (pm) v Taranaki