Date: April 17, 2007
Author:

New South Wales and Queensland set the pace

By Alistair Hogg New South Wales holds a slender lead over rival Queensland after the second round of the Australian Boys&apos Interstate Teams Matches at Royal Perth Golf Club. Emphatic victories over Victoria and the ACT ensured the tournament favourites would finish on top of the points table after day one. Queensland sit just one point off the pace after accounting for Tasmania and host state Western Australia. New South Wales were far and away the standout performers of the opening day however as they claimed nine of the total 10 points on offer. A solid 4-1 win over Victoria in the afternoon added to the 5-0 rout handed to the ACT earlier in the day. Captain Tim Hart had the most emphatic win of the day as he beat ACT&aposs Will Hogan 8/6 but dropped his state&aposs only point for the day losing to Victorian Kris Mueck 2/1 in the afternoon. Queensland started the day strongly with a win over Tasmania but it didn&apost come easy for the defending champs. Daniel Nisbet and Tarquin McManus both triumphed over their respective opponents but Tasmanian Jack Carswell put up a fight beating Eagle Chang 2/1. Ryan McCarthy squared his match with Mark Song but it wasn&apost quite enough for Tasmania who succumbed 3 1/2 to 1 1/2. Queensland used the win as a confident boost to take them into the afternoon matches where they demolished the hosts. Last week&aposs Australian Boys&apos Amateur Champion Jason Scrivener offered the only resistance, squaring his match as his team mates dropped like flies in the 4 1/2 to 1 1/2 whitewash. The win took Queensland to second on the table, just one point behind New South Wales. The sides are due to clash on Wednesday afternoon in a bout that could very well be crucial in deciding who takes home the silverware. Standings after the second round of the Australian Boys&apos Interstate Matches at Royal Perth GC: New South Wales 9 Queensland 8 Western Australia 5 1/2 Victoria 5 1/2 Australian Capital Territory 4 1/2 South Australia 3* Tasmania 3 1/2 Northern Territory 1 *South Australia sits above Tasmania despite being half a point behind due to the fact they have won a contest whereas Tasmania has not. Click here to view full score boards and a tournament draw