Boland and KZN impress at SA Jnr IPT
Boland will enjoy a well-deserved second round bye after an impressive performance in the first round of the 2014 South African U-19 Inter-Provincial, while KwaZulu-Natal will aim to extend their winning run in the B-Division after two superb victories at Krugersdorp Golf Club on Monday.
Boland enjoyed 4-0 white wash against Border and Eastern Province in the Foursomes and rallied in the Singles to defeat both teams for the perfect start in their fight for promotion.
Erhard Lambrechts, Dylon Jacobs, Hennie O’Kennedy, Herman Loubser, Keelan Africa and Tiaan Strydom reeled in six points in Singles, while Eduard de Villiers secured the half point against Eastern Province’s Tor-Bjorn Grundtvig for a 10.5 – 1.-5 victory.
Lamprechts, O’Kennedy, Loubser and Africa also produced the goods against Border, while De Villiers, Jacobs and Hendrik van der Merwe took half points to boost Boland’s numbers and the side triumphed 9.5 – 2.5.
Border’s Michael Owen scored the team’s only point in the Singles when he defeated Tiaan Strydom 1-up.
With the exception of Loubser, the seven other members of the team all served on the victorious Under-19 team that won the annual Heptangular in George in October and the team is looking to end the season on another winning note.
“We got great results in some of the games, but in others, our guys had to fight extremely hard to ensure a win or, at the least, a half point,” said Boland manager, Johan Scholtz.
“It was vital for us to start the week on a winning note, because in this format, it’s tough to come back from a first round loss when you are playing two teams each day.
“After the Foursomes, I warned the guys about complacency and every member of the team stood up to be counted. We don’t have any heroes; just eight guys committed to get us to promotion. We’ll enjoy the bye on Tuesday, but we’ll come back fired up for the battle on Wednesday.”
Meanwhile KwaZulu-Natal carried a near-perfect start against North West Province and Free State to double victory after the Singles.
The coastal side carried a 4-0 lead into the Singles against Free State and tidied up to win 8 – 4, while they lost only one point to North West Province in the Singles and walked away with a 9.5 – 2.5 result.
Eastern Province gained a crucial point with a 7.5 – 4.5 win against Border, while Free State edged out North West to 6.5 – 5.5.
B-DIVISION FIRST ROUND SCORES
Eastern Province 7.5 vs Border 4.5
Border 2.5 vs Boland 9.5
Eastern Province 1.5 vs Boland 10.5
Free State 4.0 vs KwaZulu-Natal 8.0
KwaZulu-Natal 9.5 vs North West Province 2.5
Free State 6.5 vs North West Province 5.5
B-DIVISION FIRST ROUND LOG
(Pos-Union-Played-Won-Drawn-Lost-Points-Matches won)
1 Boland (2, 2, 0, 0, 4, 20.0)
2 KwaZulu-Natal (2, 2, 0, 0, 4, 17.5)
3 Free State (2, 1, 0, 1, 2, 10.5)
4 Eastern Province (2, 1, 0, 1, 2, 9.0)
5 North West Province (2, 0, 0, 2, 0, 8.0)
6 Border (2, 0, 0, 2, 0, 7.0)
Written and released by Lali Stander on behalf of the South African Golf Association.