Mpumalanga, Boland draw early blood at Katberg

9 April 2019 – Boland and Mpumalanga claimed the first scalps in the Senior Division while Super Senior teams Ekurhuleni, Border and Eastern Province made the most of the sunny conditions to power their way to first round success in the South African Senior B-Division Inter-Provincial at Katberg Hotel & Eco Golf Estate on Tuesday.

SENIORS

Boland burst out of the blocks to claim 3.5 points against Free State in the morning foursomes.

Dirk van der Merwe beat Jannie Schutte 6&4 to set a winning tone for the singles and he was well supported by Paul Baatjies (3&2), George Bezuidenhout (2&1), Jorrie Jordaan (5&3), 2019 Senior Players Championship winner Andre van Dyk (4&3) and Francois le Roux (4&3), who racked up a further 6 points for the side.

Franz Lohbauer halved with Johan Ungerer to give Boland a superb start in the promotion battle with a 10 – 2 victory.

Meanwhile Mpumalanga routed Northern Cape 8.5 – 3.5 to move into second in the log standings, and trailing Boland by just 1.5 game points.

After taking a 2.5 – 1.5 lead into the singles, Steve Smit at number one beat Francois Mulder 5&4 and Brian Naidoo defeated Johan Bezuidenhout 4&3 to put some daylight between Mpumalanga and Free State.

Wins by Gavin Brough (3&1), Andy Britnell (1-up), Daniel Nyathela (1-up) and Sarel van Heerden (2&1) ensured the side can put their feet up and enjoy their second round bye.

SUPER SENIORS

Eastern Province mowed down Northern Cape, claiming 4 of the 6 points on offer as did Border, who knocked out North West by the same winning margin. The two teams share the top spot in the standings, followed by Ekurhuleni, who edged out Free State 3.5 – 2.5.

Border and North West were tied 1-all after the foursomes 1-all, but the singles went Border’s way with wins from Russell Gower (7&6), Dave Stephen (7&5) and Phillip Wolk (6&5).

Eastern Province also started the singles in a 1-all draw, but Zolile Nqana (6&4), Jogiphe Kana (5&4) and Johnson Madikane (1-up) took care of business.

Ekurhuleni trailed Free State after a loss and a halve in the foursomes, but Michael Lekhuleni (5&4), Russell Moss (5&4) and David de Noroonha (1-up) rallied for the first round win.

SENIORS B-DIVISION ROUND 1
Mpumalanga 8.5 vs Northern Cape 3.5
Boland 10 vs Free State 2

SUPER SENIORS B-DIVISION ROUND 1
Ekurhuleni SS 3.5 vs Free State SS 2.5
Border SS 4 vs North West SS 2
Eastern Province SS 4 vs Northern Cape SS 2

SENIORS B DIV LOG
(Pos,Union,P,W,D,L,Pts,Games)
1 Boland (1, 1, 0, 0, 2, 10)
2 Mpumalanga (1, 1, 0, 0, 2, 8.5)
3 Northern Cape (1, 0, 0, 1, 0, 3.5)
4 Free State (1, 0, 0, 1, 0, 2)
5 Ekurhuleni (0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0)

SUPER SENIORS B DIV LOG
(Pos,Union,P,W,D,L,Pts,Games)
1 Border SS (1, 1, 0, 0, 2, 4)
1 Eastern Province SS (1, 1, 0, 0, 2, 4)
3 Ekurhuleni SS (1, 1, 0, 0, 2, 3.5)
4 Free State SS (1, 0, 0, 1, 0, 2.5)
5 North West SS (1, 0, 0, 1, 0, 2)
5 Northern Cape SS (1, 0, 0, 1, 0, 2)

Written and released by Lali Stander on behalf of GolfRSA.