Final day battles loom at SA Country Districts
The 2016 SA Country Districts Tournament will go down the wire as the two top teams in both sections will have to combat each other for glory in Friday’s final round at Nelspruit Country Club.
North West cruised through their first three matched undefeated and will be rested and ready to rumble after their fourth round bye. They top the standings with six points and lead by one point from Boland, whose 2016 campaign ended with a 7.5 – 4.5 victory over Free State on Thursday.
But Mpumalanga still has a chance of stopping the North West Express from claiming the A-Section honours.
The defending champions moved to third in the log with four points after defeating Ekurhuleni 7.5 – 4.5. They have 19.5 games points against the 27 that North West has squirreled away. That means the host union needs to beat the 2013 champions by at least 10 – 2 in Friday’s final round battle to retain the title.
Meanwhile KwaZulu-Natal continued to chart a course for promotion in the B-Section.
The coastal side is the only unbeaten team left in this year’s competition after they sewed up an 8 – 4 victory over Northern Cape.
KwaZulu-Natal didn’t score a single point in 2013 and took their demotion on the chin. The lost out to Border in 2014 and to Free State last year. Their record in this year’s championship shows a determination to get the job done and KwaZulu-Natal will no doubt be shooting for a five-for-five result against Border on Friday.
They are in a similar position as North West, needing only half a point to win, but Border won’t go down without a fight.
After taking a hit from Northern Cape in the second round, Border retaliated to beat Eastern Province in the third round and downed a feisty Southern Cape 6.6 – 5.5 on Thursday.
“Two years ago, Border came from nowhere and pummelled the Garden Route side in the final round to gain promotion,” said KwaZulu-Natal manager Wynand de Swardt.
“We are definitely not taking the final match lightly. We will play Border the same way we played all our matches – with the same fight and commitment. But this year we aim to get the job done.”
Click HERE for A-Section Results
Cick HERE for A-Section Log
Click HERE for B-Section Results
Click HERE for B-Section Log
Written and released by Lali Stander on behalf of the South African Golf Association.