Wilkin wins in a classic finish

Auckland pennant representatives Fraser Wilkin and Ben Wallace battled their way to the final hole of the Bream Bay Classic at the Waipu yesterday with Wilkins winning the title by a single shot.
Wallace holed a monster birdie putt on the 17th to close to within a shot of the overnight leader, but couldn't repeat the feat on the final hole with his putt - to send the 54-hole tournament into a play-off - coming up just short.
It was a surprise for Wilkin to find out he had won the title.
"I thought we were tied after the 18th and we were headed to a play-off, so I'm still getting used to the idea of winning," he said.
He finished with a five-under total of 211, showing great consistency over the weekend with rounds of 71, 70 and 70.
"It was a bit weird because I play week-in week out with Benny Wallace and we know each other's game very well and we're used to having tight battles, but it was strange to do it in a big tournament like this," he said.
Wilkin is in a rich vein of form at the moment after winning the Stewart Gold Cup at The Grange last weekend.
"That was the first tournament I've won this year and it kind of felt like it was overdue, so to carry my form through to this week is a real bonus," he said.
His form should see him awarded the number-one spot for Auckland in the Garrard Shield this weekend at the Waitangi Golf Club, with Ryan Fox out for a couple of weeks after undergoing surgery after representing New Zealand at the recent Eisenhower Trophy tournament in Argentina.
James Davis had a poor third round yesterday firing in a 76 to cling onto third place with a total of 218, with James Colligan fourth on 219.
The top Northlander was Wellsford's Brad Bonnington who had a share of fourth place overnight but he was another player to struggle in yesterday's breeze, finishing with a five-over 77 to share seventh place on 222.
Northland No1 Scott Wightman was a further four shots adrift with 226, while young Sean Masters finished with 227 with Kadin Neho finishing on 231.
Tournament organiser Murray MacFadyen said it was a pleasure to watch the tournament completed without the players complaining about the rain - the main reason the tournament was switched from July to November this year.
"It was great to see the players really enjoying themselves and not moaning about the weather, although there was a bit of a breeze [Sunday] it was a successful tournament for us," he said.