Ecstasy for Ekurhuleni at SA Mid-Am IPT

Ekurhuleni proved once again that loss can be turned into inspiration when they celebrated a hard-fought victory in the South African Mid-Amateur Inter-Provincial at Middelburg Country Club on Friday.

The 2010 champions defeated Central Gauteng in the first round, got hammered by North West in round two, but rebounded with a spirited attack against KwaZulu-Natal on day three.

The side whipped defending champions Western Province in the fourth round and ended their campaign in spectacular style by downing Eastern Province 7 – 5 on day five.

Ekurhuleni president and team manager, Martin Saaiman, applauded the team for their courage, their drive and their never-say-die attitude.

“It is a real honour for me to stand beside these eight men,” Saaiman said. “After the hiding we got from North West, all eight players showed unbelievable pluck and bravery to retaliate; they fought with incredible spirit to turn things around and took us all the way to the top.

“I have not seen this kind of sportsmanship in a long time; the players showed a fighting spirit that was all-inspiring and I am extremely proud of what this team achieved here this week.”

Eastern Province held the upper hand after the Foursomes, but failed to convert a 3 – 1 lead into victory and a string of 5&4 victories from Jaco Rall, Adolf van der Merwe and Jan Delport put Ekurhuleni firmly in the driver’s seat.

Evan Mackenzie added another point with a 4&3 win, but then Rowan du Preez and David Konzani hit back to take the score to 5 – 4.

It was all over for Eastern Province, however, after Hugo Delport and Brian Peterson won the last two games 4&2 and 3&2 respectively.

The victory also sealed EP’s relegation, just a year after their promotion at Durban Country Club.

Meanwhile Central Gauteng still managed to finish ahead of North West in the final standings, despite a 7.5 – 4.5 hiding in the final round.

KwaZulu-Natal pipped Western Province for third spot on the log on games points. The coastal side handed the defending champions a 10 – 2 drubbing to finish with four points and 32 games points, nine more than Western Province.

Click HERE for all A-Section Results and Final Log

PHOTO: EKURHULENI TEAM
Front: Hugo Delport (Captain); Martin Saaiman (Manager)
Back: Left to right: Adolf van der Merwe; Craig Bell; Brian Peterson; Evan Mackenzie; Jan Deport; Rowan du Preez; Jaco Rall

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

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