Golf: Last-hole dramas as match goes to the wire

By BOB PEARCE

Anita Boon's tricky birdie putt nudged the side of the final hole before dropping to seal a remarkable comeback by North Harbour against Canterbury at the North Shore Golf Club yesterday.

The 3-2 victory gives Harbour a perfect record in their section of the women's interprovincial championship, one point ahead of Bay of Plenty and Canterbury, with Auckland a point further back.

In the other section, defending champions Waikato-King Country and Wellington have perfect three-win records.

North Harbour thrashed Tasman 5-0 yesterday morning, but struggled for much of their match with Canterbury, who were leading or level in all the games with three or four holes to play.

Grace Jeong took first blood for the red-and-blacks, 2 and 1 over Chanelle Baird.

But then the late-hole dramas began.

Carolyn Dobbyn, the pride of Warkworth, birdied the last to beat Nicole Woodgate and level the score. Natalie Storck repeated the effort against Carole Bates to edge Harbour ahead.

There was a hiccup when Bobea Park three-putted to lose the 18th and her match to Becky Walsh.

Wallace had been ahead of Boon for much of their match, but the North Harbour player won three of the last five in one under par.

She needed only three putts for the final three holes, sinking a 15-footer to halve the 16th, a 10-footer to win the 17th, and that curling downhill five-footer for a half and the match on the last.

Earlier, Wallace, who returned last year from four years' study and golf in the United States, had led the way as Canterbury snatched a half off the favoured Bay of Plenty team. She beat New Zealand representative Tina Howard 3 and 2.

North Harbour play Bay of Plenty this morning and Auckland this afternoon in games which could decide the semifinalists from the section.

Auckland, who lost to the Bay on Tuesday, came back strongly with a whitewash of Northland in their one game yesterday.

Northland had earlier halved with Otago.

Waikato had some anxious moments before beating Hawkes Bay and will face a stern test against Wellington this morning.

Two individual performances stand out in this Lion Foundation tournament. Seventeen-year-old Kyla Welsh from South Canterbury is the only unbeaten No 1, including two national representatives among her conquests.

And Robyn Boniface from Southland, playing in her 25th tournament, led the way in a crushing victory for Southland over Taranaki.