Central solid as EP takes a bow at SA Mid-Am IPT

Central Gauteng strengthened their position in the A-Section as last year’s B-Section winners Eastern Province got off the mark on day two of the South African Mid-Amateur Inter-Provincial at Rustenburg Golf Club on Tuesday.

North West fought valiantly, but Central Gauteng drove home a 7 – 5 win and pushed Western Province out of the top spot in the log, while the three-way clash between Gauteng North, KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Province ended with one victory a piece.

North West got hammered 1 – 3 in the singles, but the host union rallied in the singles with Daniel Jansen van Vuuren, Douglas Mc Cabe, Christo Peens and number one Albert Britz boosting their tally to five points.

However, Dylan Keylock won 3 & 2, Steve Williams ended his game with a 3 & 1 smile and Neil Homann and Shaun Stapleton sealed it for Central Gauteng with 2 & 1 results.

Gauteng North scored a clean sweep in the foursomes and rode the 4 – 0 lead to an 8 – 4 win against Eastern Province, but the Daisies couldn’t produce the same momentum against KwaZulu-Natal.

The teams split the foursomes and halved three games in the singles, but Kalvin Parsons, Corne van Deventer and Lyall McNeill delivered the blows to win the match 6.5 – 5.5 for KZN.

As fate would have it, the 2011 champions suffered defeat by the same margin against newly promoted Eastern Province.

After a 2-all draw in the foursomes, Dylan Germshuys handed Derek Scullard a 5 & 4 drubbing to set EP on a positive course. Johan Louis Vorster, Ryno Ferreira and Attie Burger added three more points and Christian Pienaar squared his match against Sean Baker for a vital half point.

The victory moved Central Gauteng into pole position in the standings with six points and Gauteng North edged Western Province for second on games points, but it could all change again as Western Province get back into action against Central Gauteng and Eastern Province on Wednesday, while Gauteng North enjoys a bye.

Ekurhuleni are hugging the bottom of the log, which means the 2014 champions will have to fight till the last putt drops against fourth placed KwaZulu-Natal on Wednesday to get out of relegation territory.

A-SECTION RESULTS – ROUND 2
KwaZulu-Natal 6.5 vs Gauteng North 5.5
Gauteng North 8 vs Eastern Province 4
KwaZulu-Natal 5.5 vs Eastern Province 6.5
North West 5 vs Central Gauteng 7

A-SECTION LOG
(Pos-Union-Played-Won-Drawn-Lost-Points-Matches won)
1 Central Gauteng (3, 3, 0, 0, 6, 21.5)
2 Gauteng North (4, 2, 0, 2, 4, 26)
3 Western Province (2, 2, 0, 0, 4, 15)
4 KwaZulu-Natal (4, 1, 0, 3, 2, 21)
5 North West (3, 1, 0, 2, 2, 17)
6 Eastern Province (2, 1, 0, 1, 2, 10.5)
7 Ekurhuleni (2, 0, 0, 2, 0, 9)

Written and released by Lali Stander on behalf of the South African Golf Association.

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