Mpumalanga & Southern Cape clinch promotion at San Lameer

20 April 2024 – The Mpumalanga Senior side survived a tense final round battle to win the B-Section title of the 2024 South African Senior & Super Senior Inter-Provincial Tournament in April, while Southern Cape were unbeatable in the Super Senior division at San Lameer Country Club.

In a tightly-contested battle for glory, Mpumalanga defeated Southern Cape by the closest of margins to clinch the promotion battle after both teams earned 9 points from four wins and a draw apiece.

In an exciting week of golf, there could be no better script for the Senior B Division as Mpumalanga and Southern Cape gave not an inch in their bid to claim the title at the magnificent course designed by Peter Matkovich and Dale Hayes.

The Garden Route side made the faster start with 12 – 0 and 9 – 3 wins over Limpopo and Northern Cape respectively on the first two days of the competition. That left them on top of the chasing pack on games points with Mpumalanga in second following success in their opening two matches against Ekurhuleni (7 – 5) and Border (9.5 – 2.5).

It was clear that the top two sides would be difficult to separate as the championship unfolded.

After a 6-all draw on day three, Southern Cape went into the final round still leading the tussle with 27 games points to the 22.5 of Mpumalanga, but which team wanted it most?

Mpumalanga went into overdrive on the last day, routing Northern Cape 8.5 – 3.5 and handing Limpopo an 11 – 1 drubbing, effectively shutting the door on Southern Cape, who scored 7 – 5 wins against Ekurhuleni and Border.

Neither side dropped a match, but when a Singles count-out determined the result, it was Mpumalanga who were left celebrating as they edged Southern Cape by a single games point.

Border was able to claim third spot with three wins and two defeats over the five games while Ekhurleni were fourth following their efforts which concluded with two wins and three losses. Northern Cape ended in fifth with just a single win while Limpopo were unable to secure a single match win in 2024.

The Super Seniors Section was almost as close but the result brought some consolation for Southern Cape, who was on the right side of the count-out as they pushed North West into second with a better singles record.

Southern Cape laid down a marker with two 5 – 1 wins against Free State and Mpumalanga on the first day, but a 4 – 2 loss against the chasing North West meant the entire tournament would ended much closer.

Then North West dropped the match against the Free State 3.5 – 2.5, which ultimately would be a key result in the week.

North West ended on a singles tally of 19, which allowed Southern Cape to enter the winner’s circle thanks to their singles tally of 21.5 after both teams ended on eight points. Northern Cape finished second from bottom while Mpumalanga had a week to forget as they failed to register a win.

Free State and Eastern Province were third and fourth respectively after finishing with identical records of three wins and two losses plus a singles tally of 17.