Otago upset highly-rated Wellington on the first day of competition in the national interprovincial team tournament which began in Nelson yesterday.
Otago, 14th of 15 teams last year, started with three losses and two halves to lose to Manawatu-Wanganui in the morning but beat a strong Wellington quintet 3-2 in the afternoon.
Otago No 1 Sean Roach was two down with four to play in his morning match with Riki Kauika but birdied the 15th and 16th holes to get back to square and sank a 2m putt on the final green to secure the half.
In the afternoon, Roach was outplayed by Andrew Green (Waikato) on the front nine and struggled on the greens to trail by five after seven holes. A spirited fightback gave Roach some pride although he lost on the 17th green.
Otago captain and No 2 Andrew Hobbs was outgunned by Josh Gunn in the morning but made amends in the afternoon.
Despite being two down after six holes, Hobbs made two eagles and four birdies to beat the highly-rated Peter Spearman-Burn (Wellington) with a 69.
This success came in Hobbs' 50th match in the coveted event.
Michael Minty lost his morning match after a slow start but started strongly in the afternoon to beat Sean Kells in 15 holes.
Otago No 4 Philip Bungard emerged unbeaten for the day, halving with Regan Cording in the morning and dominating Wellington's Adam Church in the afternoon.
Otago No 5 Mark Brooks had two 17th-green losses after starting poorly in each round.
Waikato, which edged Tasman in the morning, secured its second big win, 3-2 over Auckland.
Waikato is the only team with two wins in section two, ahead of Auckland, Canterbury, Manawatu-Wanganui and Otago, all with with a win and a loss.
Southland, 11th last year, leads section one with two wins, with Northland on a win and a loss.
Defending champion Bay of Plenty, Hawkes Bay, Northland and North Harbour all have one win.
Section play continues until Friday, with the semifinals and final on Saturday.
