Auckland wins men’s Interprovincial for first time in 25 years
The Auckland team poses for the camera after winning the Interprovincials at Hastings. From left to right are Johnny Tynan, Matt Cormack, Jared Edwards, Josh Leitch, Jang Hyun (Eric) Lee, Kunaal Singh, Warren Leitch and Bruce Tatterson.
Auckland won the 2019 New Zealand Men’s Interprovincials for the first time in 25 years when defeating Otago in the final at the Hastings Golf Club.
It was just reward for Auckland after having finished second in the two previous years and it was achieved in dominant fashion with a scoreline of 5-0.
Auckland captain Matt Cormack could not be happier with his team’s efforts.
“This honestly feels amazing,” Cormack said.
“It’s a real honour to be associated with this group of guys and I’m so proud of our achievements this week. Hopefully this is some return for all of those that have invested so much in this group back home.
“The result certainly didn’t reflect how tight things were out there in the final. The lads were making plenty of birdies and it was certainly nerve-racking watching what was happening. Seeing everyone’s faces when Eric (Jang Hyun Lee) holed that putt on 16 is something I’ll remember for a long time.”
Auckland No 3 Johnny Tynan was the first to get a point on the board in the final. He carried on the momentum he had from his morning round in the semi-final where he was required to go extra holes against Trent Munn from Manawatu/Whanganui to see which team progressed to the final. He won his match 5 and 4 over Ben Patston to get his team on the board.
No 5 Josh Leitch was the next to get his name on the board, defeating Jack Turner one up to edge his Auckland side two games up.
News quickly filtered back that Auckland No 4 Kunaal Singh and No 2 Jang Hyun Lee had reached unbeatable leads in their matches which meant Auckland had won the trophy.
Jang put the icing on the cake rolling in a 25-foot birdie putt on the 16th to win his match 3 and 2, concluding an incredible match with Jonny Mackay with the first hole halved coming on their final hole.
With the victory sealed, Auckland No 1 Jared Edwards holed a chip shot on the 17th hole to cap off a successful day for Auckland.
Cormack added: “That was a nice way to cap off the week. I think we deserve a few refreshments tonight.
Jang was awarded the player of the tournament, going through the week undefeated.
Special mentions also went to Daniel Perham from Aorangi and Matt Tautari from Southland for bringing up their 100th caps for their province.
Auckland will defend its Interprovincial title at the Whitford Park Golf Club in Auckland in 2020.
2019 New Zealand Men’s Interprovincial Results
Hastings Golf Club
November 26 – 30
Semi Finals
Otago 3 v North Harbour 2 Inia Logan lost to James Hydes 5/4, Jonny Mackay def Kevin Koong 6/4, Ben Patston lost to Kit Bittle 2/1, Sungwoo Lee def Sung Jin Yeo 3/2, Jack Turner def Nathan Mayes 2/1
Auckland 2.5 Man/Wang 2.5 Jared Edwards lost to Tyler Wood 3/2, Jang Hyun Lee def Liam Finlayson 6/4, Johnny Tynan halved with Trent Munn*, Kunaal Singh lost to Tyler Hodge 1up, Josh Leitch def Regan McConaghty 6/5 *Johnny Tynan def Trent Munn on 19th hole for Auckland to advance
Final
Auckland 5 Otago 0 Jared Edwards def Inia Logan 2/1, Jang Hyun Lee def Jonny Mackay 3/2, Johnny Tynan def Ben Patston 5/4, Kunaal Singh def Sungwoo Lee 1 up, Josh Leitch def Jack Turner 1up.