By Brett Drewitt (National Squad member) The Four Nations team was made up of Ryan Peake, Todd Sinnott , Maverick Antcliffe and myself, Brett Drewitt. We were competing against Argentina, South Africa and the host country New Zealand. We all arrived in Queenstown on Monday 10th October to see snow on the peaks of the mountain tops, it was amazing. We were competing at the Hills Golf Club which is owned by Sir Michael Hill. The course has hosted the last 2 NZ Opens and is a great test of golf for all players. Come Thursday, the first round, everyone was ready to compete to bring the Four Nations trophy back home. I teed off first. It was a chilly morning and I fired an even par 72. Maverick answered with the lowest round of the day 71 and Ryan hung in there shooting a 73. We were off to a great start and held a 4 shot lead over the Argentinians. Day 2 was a different story with the weather turning nasty. We had winds from the south which were coming straight from the Remarkables mountain range which were getting a nice covering of fresh snow. Everyone was rugged up and trying to keep warm and dry from the wind and rain. Todd hit back from his first day 76 and posted a nice even par (72) in the tough conditions. Ryan fired a 74 and I shot a 76. We got through the tough day still in the lead. Ben Campbell from New Zealand fired a great 2 under (70) to help the Kiwis get back into the tournament. Day 3 saw nice weather with no wind and low scores. Todd went out and fired a great 6 under (66) only to be out done by myself with a 7 under (65). Maverick secured an even par (72), to prove that day 3 was a moving day for the Aussies. Going into the Final round we had a 14 shot lead over New Zealand. Day 4 proved to be the ultimate test for us Aussies as we had New Zealand chasing our 14 shot lead. After 9 holes our lead was only 3. The kiwis were hot on our tails! Ryan stayed calm firing a back nine 4 under to finish at 2 under for the day. Todd made a steady finish with an even par (72). I was playing in the final group and was holding steady. Birdie putts on 14 and 15 got me to 3 under and the lead was getting bigger. The New Zealanders were struggling to bring it home with Ryan Fox finishing 3 over in the last 3 holes to fire a 5 under (67). As I approached the par 5, 17th, all I needed was a strong finish and the Cup was ours. I eagled 17 and finished 4 under par to secure us an 11 shot win. I finished as the leading Individual after a great week in which the team bonded well. We successfully claimed the Four Nations Cup and brought it home to put it in the trophy cabinet alongside our Nomura Cup, Southern Cross Cup and also Trans-Tasman Cup. I would like to take this opportunity to thank our manager Craig Bishop and coach Marty Joyce for a wonderful week. They helped us get through the tough playing-conditions and shared their knowledge of the game with us. I would also like to thank Golf Australia for the opportunity to play in such a great tournament which also wouldn t have been possible without the hard work and organisation from New Zealand Golf and participating teams. It was a memorable week for all those who were involved with many friendships made and great golf played.
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