Golf: Titirangi at home in finals pressure

Defending champions Auckland have to overcome Titirangi's home course advantage and the most successful club in Bissett Shield history to win the premier title in Auckland interclub golf again tomorrow.

The Middlemore-based club, featuring former internationals Michael Barltrop, David Somervaille and Brent Patterson and national academy squad member Ben Wallace, will be favourite to take the title for the seventh time.

Titirangi, who have won the Bissett Shield 22 times outright and shared it twice, are in their first premier interclub final since 1999.

When the two teams met earlier in the season, Auckland won by seven games to five. It was Titirangi's only loss but they were top qualifiers after the seven rounds of the regular season and advanced straight to the final. Auckland edged Akarana last Sunday in the semifinal.

Auckland have youth at the top of their order. Wallace, at No 1, will play Titirangi's James Gardiner, nearly 20 years his senior. Fraser Wilkin, another teenager at No 2 for Auckland, meets former provincial rugby player and sometime Titirangi club champion Richard Fry, who is more than twice his age.

But the most fascinating match will be at number five, where Titirangi's legendary Ken Hankin, now 63, meets Michael Barltrop. These are two of the all-time greats in Auckland golf and they've been provincial team-mates numerous times.

Auckland and Titirangi last met in a Bissett Shield final in 1997, when they had to share the title after a close contest was called off because of darkness.

To ensure that doesn't happen again, the final starts off the first tee at Titirangi at 9.03am.

In other finals tomorrow, Maungakiekie try to regain premier grade status when they play Pukekohe in the Presidents grade final, Akarana meet Titirangi in the Interclub A grade showdown and Maungakiekie face The Grange in Interclub B.