Day one of the 2007 Interstate Teams Matches produced some brilliant golf and a couple of surprise results at Launceston Golf Club. New South Wales and Queensland started with intent while Tasmania almost pulled off a shock win. New South Wales set up their victory over South Australia with wins in all four of the morning foursomes matches. Brothers Scott and Jamie Arnold got into the act with a 3&2 win over Chris Austin and Ben Hallam while the solid pairing of Tim Stewart and Richie Gallichan was ruthless in dispatching Chris Brown and Stephen Speirs 5&4. Peter Cooke won respect with his 2up win over Australian Amateur Champion Rohan Blizard but it was New South Wales&apos day as they streaked home for a 7 1/2 to 3 1/2 victory. Queensland joins them at the top of the day one leaderboard following their surprise thrashing of Victoria. The contest started fiercely with neither team willing to give an inch to their opponents. Tom Prowse and Ashley Umbers claimed the only win in the morning foursomes thanks to a convincing 5&4 triumph over Matthew McBain and Adam Gemmell; the other three matches were squared. But the Queenslanders must have had something effective for lunch as they came out firing after the break. McBain, Brett Rankin, Rika Batibasaga, Andrew Dodt and captain Ray Beaufils all posted wins to bury the Victorians 7 1/2 to 3 1/2. However in the surprise story of the day, somebody forgot to tell Tasmania that they have not won a title since 1977! The host state came out and squared with Western Australia after almost pulling off an unlikely victory. The Tasmanians rattled their opponents in the morning foursomes, winning all four matches. Jack Carswell combined with Adam Ring to beat Michael Dennis and Brody Ninyette 4&3 while James Pyke and Mark Schulze overcame the fancied combination of Rick Kulacz and Michael Foster. The West Australians listed their game in the afternoon to get back into the contest. Australian Boys&apos Amateur Champion Jason Scrivener started the rally with a 3&2 win over Carswell and Brenton Haines continued, beating John Cassidy 5&3. Pyke sought to edge the Tasmanians over the line but was held to a square by Michael Foster and the West Australians dramatically pinched an overall square in the dying moments of the contest when Rick Kulacz triumphed 1up over Craig Hancock. Nevertheless, it was a tremendous result for the hosts and it will give them confidence heading into the rest of the week. In the Colts Teams Matches at the immaculately presented Mowbray Golf Club, New South Wales finds itself in a similarly strong position after a solid first-up win. A 5-3 victory over South Australia is the perfect platform upon which to launch a title challenge and it was all set up by unrelenting play in the singles. Taking a 3-2 lead into the afternoon, New South Wales only lost one singles match to prevail. Matthew Giles and Do-Hyung Kim were held to squares but Kya-Ha Sim and Rhys McGovern posted wins to lead their state to an opening round win. Tasmania sits equal-second on the table after a stirring win over Western Australia. Perhaps inspired by their fellow Tasmanians playing at Launceston Golf Club, the Colts came from behind to snatch the glory. Western Australia took a two-point lead into the singles, but Tasmania took four of the five remaining matches to win by a solitary point. In the other contest, Queensland overcame a deficit to pip Victoria by just one point. The Vics had the better of their opponents throughout the foursomes and early parts of the singles but Gavin Fairfax and captain Peter Hall led by example to claim clutch wins and get their state over the line. Click here for LIVE SCORING – DAY 2! Click here to view full day one results from the Interstate Teams Matches Click here to view full day one results from the Interstate Colts Teams Matches
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