Free State set for titanic battle at SA IPT

The Western Province expects strong opposition in the third round single matches at the South African Inter Provincial this afternoon, after handing Free State / Northern Cape a solid 4-0 drumming in the morning foursomes at Pretoria Country Club.

Pictured: Hendrik Burger of Freestate & Northern Cape.

“It’s nice to go into the singles with this kind of lead,” said captain Aaron Russell, who combined with the experienced Greg Upton for the teams’ first win. “In match play, anything can happen, so four points is a nice cushion to have.”

Central Gauteng battled valiantly, but Kwazulu-Natal’s Michael Hollick foiled their chances to force a draw when he rolled in a putt at the 18th that halved the final match and gave Kwazulu-Natal a 2½ – 1½ edge heading into the afternoon.

“We are up against it now,” said skipper Ryan Dreyer. “We are going to have to win all our singles to stay in this competition. You could say it is do or die time now.”

The Southern Cape emerged victories in a closely fought contest with Boland and will start the singles leading the Cape side 3½ – ½.

In the B-Section, the Eastern Province and Gauteng North continue to plot a course that points to an almighty showdown for promotion on Friday.

After four successive wins, the local favourites stayed on course for their fifth scalp with a clean sweep against North West in the foursomes. Herman Minnie and Branden Stone dished out yet another hiding, beating North West number one and two, JG Claassen and Ettienne Bates, 8&7.

“The while team performed well this morning,” said Minnie.

“I would like to see the same kind of commitment from everyone this afternoon, because this is where it really starts to count.”

With three victories in the competition, the Eastern Province also stayed afloat by winning three of their matches against Ekurhuleni and scoring 2½ points against Mpumalanga.

Manager Anton Prinsloo said the match against Mpumalanga was pretty tight, but he was delighted with how his charges performed against Ekurhuleni.

“They are a really tough team to beat, especially in the singles,” said Prinsloo. “To have that kind of start ahead of the singles could make all the difference late this afternoon.

“So can the half-point gained against Mpumalanga. In match play, you just never know.”

The Western Province expects strong opposition in the third round single matches at the South African Inter Provincial this afternoon, after handing Free State / Northern Cape a solid 4-0 drumming in the morning foursomes at Pretoria Country Club.

“It’s nice to go into the singles with this kind of lead,” said captain Aaron Russell, who combined with the experienced Greg Upton for the teams’ first win. “In match play, anything can happen, so four points is a nice cushion to have.”

Central Gauteng battled valiantly, but Kwazulu-Natal’s Michael Hollick foiled their chances to force a draw when he rolled in a putt at the 18th that halved the final match and gave Kwazulu-Natal a 2½ – 1½ edge heading into the afternoon.

“We are up against it now,” said skipper Ryan Dreyer. “We are going to have to win all our singles to stay in this competition. You could say it is do or die time now.”

The Southern Cape emerged victories in a closely fought contest with Boland and will start the singles leading the Cape side 3½ – ½.

In the B-Section, the Eastern Province and Gauteng North continue to plot a course that points to an almighty showdown for promotion on Friday.

After four successive wins, the local favourites stayed on course for their fifth scalp with a clean sweep against North West in the foursomes. Herman Minnie and Branden Stone dished out yet another hiding, beating North West number one and two, JG Claassen and Ettienne Bates, 8&7.

“The while team performed well this morning,” said Minnie.

“I would like to see the same kind of commitment from everyone this afternoon, because this is where it really starts to count.”

With three victories in the competition, the Eastern Province also stayed afloat by winning three of their matches against Ekurhuleni and scoring 2½ points against Mpumalanga.

Manager Anton Prinsloo said the match against Mpumalanga was pretty tight, but he was delighted with how his charges performed against Ekurhuleni.

“They are a really tough team to beat, especially in the singles,” said Prinsloo. “To have that kind of start ahead of the singles could make all the difference late this afternoon.

“So can the half-point gained against Mpumalanga. In match play, you just never know.”

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