Michael Ormandy (North Otago) joined with Southland representative Mathew Tautari to score rounds of 70 and 74 and win the Otago men's foursomes championship in fine conditions over 36 holes at Chisholm Links yesterday.
The pair finished three shots ahead of St Clair duo Brent McEwan and Greg Johnson while defending champions Michael Minty and Phil Bungard were two further shots back in third place.
Ormandy and Tautari opened with a 1 under par 70 to hold a three shot lead over McEwan and Johnson and St Clair juniors Jakob Bleach and Connow Ross at lunch.
But the chase for the title came down to the last five holes and, when Ormandy missed a 1m putt on the 14th green, he and Tautari trailed McEwan and Johnson by one.
Ormandy and Tautari made back to back birdies on 15 and 16 while McEwan and Johnson bogeyed the 15th giving the winners a two shot buffer.
The battle was all but over when McEwan and Johnson made a double bogey six on the penultimate hole while Ormandy and Tautari parred in to take the title.
Ormandy was pleased with the win but said he owed a lot to his Southland partner who was in great form throughout the day.
Balmacewen professional Shelley Duncan teamed up with St Clair junior Annabel Evans to take the women's title by four shots.
The St Clair pair of Susan Greig and Abigael Crawford posted the best morning score of 77 to hold a two shot lead at lunch, but they lost form in the afternoon and fired an 87 to give Duncan and Evans the title.
Duncan and Evans' strength was their consistency - they scored 79 and 81 for their win.
