New Zealand has got to within one shot of Australia after a fantastic fightback in round two of the inaugural Four Nations Cup at The Hills in bitterly cold conditions today.
With snow falling on The Remarkables as a backdrop, the New Zealand team, who began the day seven shots back after round one, responded with their most experienced players Ben Campbell (70) and Ryan Fox (72) leading the way.
Masterton amateur Campbell, who was disappointed with his three over 75 on day one, turned the Kiwis' fortunes around with the low round of the day to climb six places and be tied second on the individual standings.
The unbelievable finish propelled Fox to the top of the individual standings by one shot from Campbell and Argentine Franco Romero. Fox believed his and Campbell's experience was paying off.
The effort from Campbell and Fox in particular impressed New Zealand team manager Brent Patterson.
The third counting score came from Mathew Perry (74). International rookie Vaughan McCall struggled again with a non-counting 84. Fox expected them to fire on the weekend.
Australia's Maverick Antcliffe, who held a share of the lead after round one, battled on day two with an eight over par 80 but his teammates stepped up.
Todd Sinnott bounced back from his five over 77 with an even par 72, Ryan Peake had a two over par 74 and Brett Drewitt (76) chipped in for a six over par total.
Argentina, who was four shots back from the leaders overnight, were visibly uncomfortable in the cold conditions and plummeted down the leaderboard on day two into last position.
The Four Nations Cup is an amalgamation of two tournaments, the Four Nations (between NZ, Australia, Japan and Canada) and the Southern Cross Cup (between New Zealand, Australia, South Africa and Argentina), becoming one Stroke Play event.
The four international teams (New Zealand, Australia, South Africa and Argentina) are made up of four male players with the best three scores counting each day.
Scores after round 2:
144 Ryan Fox (New Zealand) 72 72
145 Ben Campbell (New Zealand) 75 70, Franco Romero (Argentina) 72 73
147 Ryan Peake (Australia) 73 74
148 Brett Drewitt (Australia) 72 76
149 Todd Sinnott (Australia) 77 72, Jorge Fernandez Valdes (Argentina) 72 77, Hadyn Porteous (South Africa) 71 78
150 Brandon Stone (South Africa) 78 72, Mat Perry (New Zealand) 76 74, Ruan De Smidt (South Africa) 76 74
152 Maverick Antcliffe (Australia) 71 81
157 Martin Kim (Argentina) 77 80
158 Thomas Baik (Argentina) 75 83
161 Vaughan McCall (New Zealand) 77 84
238 Jared Harvey (South Africa) 162 76
Team scores:
438 Australia
439 New Zealand
445 South Africa
450 Argentina
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