KEY POINTS:
Wellington, winless after the first day, have won through to today's semifinals of the men's interprovincial golf championships in Nelson.
The Capital combination are keen to go one better than last year when they lost to the Bay of Plenty in the final at Mt Maunganui.
They topped section two and will play surprise packets Southland in one semifinal while defending champions Bay of Plenty meet their neighbours Waikato in the other semi.
Wellington fought their way to a crucial halved match with rivals Waikato in the morning after they put hosts Tasman out of the running 4-1 in the afternoon. They are jointly the most successful side in the 58-year history of the tournament with 12 wins and it has been seven years since they last won at New Plymouth.
Earlier, 2005 champions North Harbour looked to have cemented a place in the final after edging Northland 3-2 in the morning to move to the top of their division.
But they could not repeat the effort in the afternoon, being beaten 3-2 by the Bay of Plenty who had been held to a half in the morning to end the hopes of Hawkes Bay.
That opened the door for Southland who needed four wins in their final match against Hawkes Bay. They achieved that when teenager Vaughan McCall made a crucial putt on the final hole to beat Stu Duff one-up.
The semifinals are this morning and the final in the afternoon.