KZN steps it up on day four at SA IPT

The Western Province lost a little ground when Kwazulu-Natal managed to dominate the foursomes on a tension-packed fourth day at the 50th South African Inter Provincials at Pretoria Country Club.

The two teams are tied for the lead on six points each, however, the Western Province held a slight four and a half point’s edge in the games count.

By the time the foursomes wrapped up, the defending champions had managed to shave a full point of their deficit when they emerged with a 2½ – 1½ lead.

Captain Ryan de Beer and Gavin Sole were first on the tee for KZN.

The pair and tidied up for a 2&1 win over Gregg Upton and Aaron Russell, but moments later Werner Theart and Robbie Oosthuizen grabbed a 1-up victory over Derek Scullard and David Brown to level the score.

Jared Harvey and Michael Hollick were in scintillating form against their opposite numbers, Justin Turner and Le Riche Ehlers. The KZN number one and two was four-up through the turn and climbed to five up when Turner and Ehlers got tripped up in a pot bunker at the 11th.

The Western Province managed to win the 12th but at the 13th, Harvey holed out from just over 20-foot above the hole to take their score to 6-up.

At the par-three 14th, the Western Province missed the green, while Hollick’s effort gave them an excellent birdie chance from five feet. Turner and Ehlers conceded and the Kwazulu-Natal pair signed off with a decisive 6&4 win.

Meanwhile, the Western Province debutants Ryan Strauss and JP Strydom had done well to hold off the two KZN Vans – Chris van der Merwe and Steven van Heerden – and their match had reached the 18th in a stalemate.

Van der Merwe played a superb trap shot to leave Van Heerden a tricky 15-footer for birdie, while Strydom was facing a putt from much the same distance, but a few feet right of the pin.

Van Heerden struck it well and the ball crawled right up to hole, but refused to drop. Strydom’s putt shaved the hole and rolled three feet past, but Strauss calmly holed out to halve the hole and secure an important half point for his team.

In the B-Section games, Ekurhuleni led Limpopo 3-1. Border leads Mpumalanga 3-1 but tied North West, who beat Mpumalanga 3-1.

The Western Province lost a little ground when Kwazulu-Natal managed to dominate the foursomes on a tension-packed fourth day at the 50th South African Inter Provincials at Pretoria Country Club.

The two teams are tied for the lead on six points each, however, the Western Province held a slight four and a half point’s edge in the games count.

By the time the foursomes wrapped up, the defending champions had managed to shave a full point of their deficit when they emerged with a 2½ – 1½ lead.

Captain Ryan de Beer and Gavin Sole were first on the tee for KZN.

The pair and tidied up for a 2&1 win over Gregg Upton and Aaron Russell, but moments later Werner Theart and Robbie Oosthuizen grabbed a 1-up victory over Derek Scullard and David Brown to level the score.

Jared Harvey and Michael Hollick were in scintillating form against their opposite numbers, Justin Turner and Le Riche Ehlers. The KZN number one and two was four-up through the turn and climbed to five up when Turner and Ehlers got tripped up in a pot bunker at the 11th.

The Western Province managed to win the 12th but at the 13th, Harvey holed out from just over 20-foot above the hole to take their score to 6-up.

At the par-three 14th, the Western Province missed the green, while Hollick’s effort gave them an excellent birdie chance from five feet. Turner and Ehlers conceded and the Kwazulu-Natal pair signed off with a decisive 6&4 win.

Meanwhile, the Western Province debutants Ryan Strauss and JP Strydom had done well to hold off the two KZN Vans – Chris van der Merwe and Steven van Heerden – and their match had reached the 18th in a stalemate.

Van der Merwe played a superb trap shot to leave Van Heerden a tricky 15-footer for birdie, while Strydom was facing a putt from much the same distance, but a few feet right of the pin.

Van Heerden struck it well and the ball crawled right up to hole, but refused to drop. Strydom’s putt shaved the hole and rolled three feet past, but Strauss calmly holed out to halve the hole and secure an important half point for his team.

In the B-Section games, Ekurhuleni led Limpopo 3-1. Border leads Mpumalanga 3-1 but tied North West, who beat Mpumalanga 3-1.

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