Golf: Home turf hope at Titirangi

US Open winner Michael Campbell will not be there to give Auckland a shock in the national interprovincial. Picture / Reuters

Auckland will hope to bury the memory of Michael Campbell when they try to take advantage of playing at home in the national interprovincial tournament this year.

That home-town edge comes round only every 15 years and Auckland's hopes were snuffed out in 1990 at Remuera by the No 1 amateur for Wellington, who is now the new US Open champion.

The teams finished their semifinal all-square and Campbell and Auckland's Phil Aickin, then a member at Remuera, decided the issue in a playoff.

On the first elevated tee Aickin, for the first time at the club, hooked his ball out of bounds. Campbell found the fairway and, after almost going out of bounds with his second, won the hole to put Wellington into the final, where they beat Otago.

Auckland did get some revenge by winning the title five years later at Manor Park in Wellington territory, but for the past decade they have been without a victory and under the lash from New Zealand Golf for under-performing.

Last year at Napier they finished a disappointing ninth, but this season have started on a much more promising note. Their young team of Logan Holzer, Kevin Chun, Andy Gang, Travis O'Connell and Albert Kim won the Southland Invitational in March and most of those players will be in line for Titirangi in November.

Titirangi is a course that rewards patient, thinking players, and Auckland will make the most of their chances to practice there. They have assistance from personable Grange professional Stu Thompson - a member of those successful Wellington teams in the 1990s.

When the Auckland strokeplay championship was played at Titirangi last year, New Zealand's top amateurs struggled to get close to par. On some of the trickier greens, bogeys are going to win holes during the interprovincial, which is matchplay with five-man teams.

Auckland's low placing at Napier means they have a favourable draw, avoiding last year's finalists, Bay of Plenty and Waikato, in section play. And Michael Campbell will only be there in spirit.

THOSE Aussies just don't give up. Not only have they snaffled our amateur titles for the last few years, they have been trying desperately to claim Campbell since his historic victory.

Greg Clark, who once worked for TVNZ but now fronts a golf show across the Tasman, claimed last week that Campbell was really an Aussie because he lived in Sydney.

On that basis he's also English, as he lives there for the European season.

The Aussies could perhaps mention that he is a former winner of the Australian amateur championship. This is a distinction he shares with Steve Elkington, the last Aussie winner of a major, the US PGA in 1995.CHRISTCHURCH professional Tony Christie set a course record on his way to winning the Cairns Classic in North Queensland.

Christie grabbed his first victory on the second-tier Von Nida Tour in Australia, claiming the $110,000 event by four shots from Australians Ken Druce and Adam Bland.

The Canterbury player finished with a two-under 70 in the final round for an outstanding 21-under tally of 267 for the 72 holes at the Cairns Golf Club. The victory was set up with a course record 11-under 61 in the third round.

Christie completed a whirlwind birdie-birdie-eagle finish for the course record, saying he wanted a fast finish so he could watch the All Blacks-Lions test.