It's a group hug time for the Auckland teenagers after they clinched a fourth consecutive New Zealand Women's Interprovincial golf tourney crown at Maraenui GC in Napier today. Photo / BW Media
And so it came to pass with Auckland slipping on the crown today to emulate their male counterparts to ensure the bragging rights of golf teams' matchplay well and truly belongs to the City of Sails this year.
But in the gender supremacy stakes the fourth title on the trot at the New Zealand Women's Interprovincials in Napier will take some beating as they have lost only twice in the past decade.
Ominously Auckland captain Carmen Lim, not long after beating Manawatu/Whanganui 3-2 in the final at the Maraenui Golf Club was that the fabulous five would be available next year if selected. If they succeed again they'll match the glorious five-tourney streak of Auckland, starting at Westown GC (New Plymouth) in 1976 and ending at Hastings GC in 1980.
The Auckland women will tee off at next year's interprovincials at Akarana GC while the men will also feel at home at Whitford Park GC.
No 3 Lim, who beat Brydie Hodge 4&2 today, said they were quietly confident in getting the job done despite Manawatu/Whanganui No 5 Lily Griffin putting the runners-up 1-0 early with a 5&4 victory over Grace Jung.
"It wasn't easy. We had some pretty tough matches so it was good to win," she said, after Auckland No 2 Fiona Xu had Zhuo Yi (pronounced Cheehee) Hu's measure with a 3&2 win and Angela Ju handed Lisa Herbert a don't-argue 5&3.
Top see Vivian Lu was in dormie situation as Manawatu/Whanganui counterpart Tara Raj beat her again — this time 3&2 — to claim the Player of the Tournament title.
It was a result reversal of the final round-robin game yesterday between the then two undefeated sides who had booked their semifinal berths and speculation rife the Aucklanders weren't going to lose sleep over the defeat.
Predictably the two teams clinched their semifinals to reload and Auckland's ascendancy lent some credence to the "ghosting" theory.
Lim simply put it down to tourney management in the face of three tough oppositions but deriving satisfaction in the blueprint with the silverware in their hands.
Auckland had thumped division two top qualifiers North Harbour 4-1 — Jung the only casualty — but Bay of Plenty made Manawatu/Whanganui overtime with Hu sinking a birdie to eclipse Jessica Green on the 19th hole in the semifinals in the morning.
So what tilted it in favour of the victors in the final?
"We had to putt well against them so whoever was going to putt the best was going to win," says Lim, finding the greens at Maraenui weren't too far off ones she was accustomed to in the Big Smoke.
"I guess we'd adjusted quite well," said the 15-year-old from Ormiston Senior College.
The plus-four handicapper from Windross Farm GC said it was a solid team and their reserve had lugged bags the entire five days.
Lu was a little disappointed with the back-to-back losses but Lim said the collective accolades had worked as a soothing balm.
So how will they celebrate tonight before driving back tomorrow?
"We'll probably all going to share a room tonight to watch movies or something," Lim said with a laugh. "We'll have some ice cream and that but no drinks because we're all like only 15."
Raj said Manawatu/Whanganui really wanted to prevail but it wasn't to be.
"I suppose second's still good," said the 16-year-old from Whanganui whose mother Arlene caddied for her throughout the week.
The plus-1 handicapper shrugged off the down-to-the-wire semifinal as a fatigue factor, instead accepting the Aucklanders had outplayed them.
The 16-year-old suspected most of them would remain in the equation to break Auckland's purple patch next year.
"We did one better this year so, hopefully, we can do better next year," Raj said after they finished fourth last year.
Did she think wily Auckland were foxing it in the semifinals?
"I'm sure they under some pressure but they've been in that situation before so they probably know how to handle it a little better," the Tikura High School pupil said, revealing her mother, who has been lugging her golf bag since she started playing at 9, was delighted.
"She knows a lot about golf but not so much about shot making and stuff so she leaves me to decide on all that stuff," Raj said Arlene (nee Blackley) who has represented New Zealand in equestrian.
Plus-1 handicapper Hu said she was calm in the 19th-hole shootout in the semifinal against BOP.
"We had a tough match all the way," said the 14-year-old from Palmerston North Girls' High School after Green made a par.
"I had been putting well all day so I knew it was going to go in [for a birdie on the 19th] and had told myself to stay confident."
Hosts Hawke's Bay-Poverty Bay finished 12 out of the 13-team event today, the euphoria of making the playoffs at Taranaki's expense losing some zing after a 4-1 loss to Tasman.
"It was very disappointing to finish 12th but, you know, we tried our best and, unfortunately, we couldn't pull it off," said captain Martha Manaena who was the only individual winner, beating Tasman No 4 Amber Boyce 5&4.
Still proud of the HBPB endeavour, the Craft Heinz machine operator from Hastings said the other seniors players of Napier Golf Club member Janie Field and fellow Hastings club mate Fiona Ellis would focus on trials after Christmas for the women's masters to be staged at Clarks Beach GC on the outskirts of Auckland in April.
Is it a concern that HBPB don't have teenagers coming through as most other teams have at the interprovincials?
"Absolutely. We must get these girls because we can't still be doing this in two years," said Manaena, revealing girls often dropped out of golf in their mid-to-late teens.
"We need to find something to attract them but we just don't know what that is."
Tourney reserve Ellen Bell, 14, and top seed Tessa McDonald, 24, are from Gisborne.
She envied the Asian culture that tended to invest in their girls' talent pool to keep the cellphone generation interested.
"They get to about 15 or 16 and then they just don't want to do it anymore," said Manaena, highlighting how Field used to pick up two sisters to take to Napier club but had eventually lost them.
"We try to get them the clothing they want to wear — these nice little short skirts and nice socks — but even that doesn't attract them," she said, adding Field had foraged around to find one of them irons, drivers and putters to build a set.
In a typical situation, parents often tried to hold down a job to support six children.
In her rookie captain stint, Manaena said she had thoroughly enjoyed it and her teammates had tried their utmost.
RESULTS
Final:
Manawatu/Whanganui 2 Auckland 3: Tara Raj bt Vivian Lu 3&2, Zhuo Yi Hu lost to Fiona Xu 3&2, Brydie Hodge lost to Carmen Lim 4&2, Lisa Herbert lost to Angela Ju 5&3, Lily Griffin bt Grace Jung 5&4.
Semifinals:
Manawatu/Whanganui 3 Bay of Plenty 2: Tara Raj bt Caitlin Maurice 5&3, Zhuo Yi Hu bt Jessica Green on the 19th hole, Brydie Hodge bt Aroha Tito 2&1, Lisa Herbert lost to Taylor-Rose Perrett 3&2, Lily Griffin lost to Susan Short 5&4.
North Harbour 1 Auckland 4: Anna An lost to Vivian Lu 2down, Vaha Fapiano lost to Fiona Xu 6&5, Eunseo Choi lost to Carmen Lim 3&2, Yeonsoo Son lost to Angela Ju 5&4, Danika Lee bt Grace Jung 1up.
Playoffs:
Fifth-sixth, Wellington 3 Canterbury 2: Darae Chung lost to Maddie May 1down, Erika Cui lost to Amy Weng 5&4, Alanah Gullery bt Hillary O'Connor 1up, Shontalia William bt Olive Tapu 5&4, Yewoo Hyun bt Melissa Newburn 3&2.
Seventh-eighth, Aorangi 1 Waikato 4: Ginny Bolderston lost to Zahraa Bester 5&3, Angela Gerken lost to Jill Morgan 4&2, Catherine Knight lost to Sarah Hancock 1down, Lynda Brown bt Robin Pellow 2up, Kathryn Baker lost to Sian Stevenson lost to 4&2.
Ninth-10th, Otago 3 Northland 2: Sumin Kang bt Shardae Bulkeley 1up, Danielle Bailey lost to Kylie Jacoby 1down, Tracey Storer bt Sjanna Bishop 3&2, Susan Greig lost to Jenny Peters 1down, Amy Johns bt Alayna Cox 2&1.
11th-12th, Hawke's Bay/Poverty Bay 1 Tasman 4: Tessa McDonald lost to Lizzie Neale 2&1, Janie Field lost to Eve Clarke 3&1, Clare Choi lost to Emily Stenhouse 2&1, Martha Manaena bt Amber Boyce 5&4, Fiona Ellis lost to Tracy Bary 5&4.
A three-week inquest in Hamilton will investigate the Olympian's death in 2021 aged 24.