Boland still in hunt as WP dominates early in Inter Provincial
Defending champions Boland were still out on the course when play was halted after a day of high winds and heavy rain showers on the second day of the South African Inter Provincial tournament at the Hermanus Golf Club.
But Boland was well ahead of Central Gauteng, leading 7 ½ – 4 ½, and that score keeps the host province in the race for the title behind pace-setters Western Province and Gauteng North.
It was a situation reminiscent of Boland’s loss last year to Western Province, when that match was called off for lightning. But, this year, there were no matches that either side felt was affected by the early finish.
The tournament rules provide for matches that have gone past nine holes to be recorded as they stand if play is ended prematurely for the day.
Keenan Davidse continued to impress, after his good opening day: He defeated Yubin Jung of Central Gauteng 7 and 5 in singles, but narrowly lost by a single hole with Hendrik van den Berg in the morning’s foursomes to Ryan Clarke and Patrick Spindler.
Western Province took their singles games against Ekurhuleni by a 6-2 margin to dominate that match with a final score of 10-2. Aaron Russell took his match against Ramon Rahme 7 and 5, and Justin Turner defeated Johan Bekker 6 and 5.
Gauteng North consolidated their good start to the tournament, defeating Free State and Northern Cape 9-3. The win came after a dominating performance in the morning’s foursomes, which Gauteng North won without 3 ½ – ½ without conceding a match.
Stefan Rall had the best win in the singles for the Pretoria men, defeating Barnie Mostert 5 and 3.
In B section action, KwaZulu-Natal edged past North West Province 6 ½ – 5 ½ after sharing the singles matches 4-4. Thomas Lovett and Cobus Oosthuizen getting the invaluable half in the morning foursomes against Peter Cooper and JP Lombard on the final 161-metre hole with a par three in the swirling wind.
That shared match was the one which got KwaZulu-Natal into a winning position and kept them in touch with early log-leaders Eastern Province.
Victory in the B section and promotion out of it is important for KwaZulu-Natal as they host next year’s tournament.
Eastern Province stretched ahead at the head of the B section table with an 8-4 win over Limpopo. The lead over KwaZulu Natal is 1 ½ points going into the third day.
It was a match that finished in near-darkness because of a delay for water-logged greens to be fixed.
Border and Mpumalanga tied 6-6 in a hard-fought match, with Border’s Wynand Scholtz winning 7 and 5 over Hugo Malan. It was a good fightback for Border, who finished the foursomes in the morning down 3-1, only to win the singles 5-3.