Otago made a solid start in the Freyberg Masters (over 40) men's interprovincial tournament yesterday with a win over Bay of Plenty in the morning and a draw with Auckland in the afternoon.
Otago started well on the Gisborne course with a 3 to 2 win over the Bay team with debutants Gary Creedy (No 1) and Stephen Hitchcox (No 5) both posting wins.
Creedy had a convincing start, not missing any greens to beat Dave Humphrey in thirteen holes while Hitchcox made a slow start on his way to beating Dave Enright by 3 and 2.
John Cunningham (No 4) made the difference with a 3 and 2 win over Ross Fowler while Ken Shaw (No 2) struggled with his putter losing to Fred Watts by 5 and 4.
Otago No 3 Greg Johnson had an even tussle with former international Terry Cochrane but losing the 17th hole cost him the match.
Cunningham made it two wins for the day beating Richard Griffin (Auckland) by scoring three birdies in the last four holes.
Ken Shaw found some touch with his putter in the afternoon turning two under par and four up on his way to downing John Bone (Auckland).
With the help of former cricket international Lance Cairns as caddy, Greg Johnson won the final hole to halve his match with Tom Duffy and avoid an Otago loss.
The debutants got a reality check in the afternoon losing to former top golfers Martin Tumata and Ken Hankin.
Otago will play Canterbury this morning and will suffer a temporary drop down the points table with a bye this afternoon.
