Neighbourly showdown looms at SA IPT
Ekurhuleni and Central Gauteng will face each other in the tussle for supremacy after both sides battled to victory in the second of the 55th South African Inter-Provincial, sponsored by Tempest, while Western Province retaliated after a first round loss at Glendower Golf Club on Tuesday.
Central Gauteng edged out Boland 7.5 – 4.5 and Ekurhuleni downed Southern Cape 7 – 5 to finish first and second respectively in the log, while Province handed Eastern Province an 8 – 4 drubbing to get their campaign back on track.
Ekurhuleni trailed Southern Cape 1.5 – 2.5 after the Foursomes, but a superb performance by Dylan Mostert was just the spark the host union’s manager Hugo Delport needed to spur his charges to victory.
“Dylan holed out for two eagles and made two birdies to win 8 & 6 and that got the competitive spirit going,” said Delport.
“Paul Boshoff and Angus Ellis-Cole both tidied up for 4 & 3 wins and Teagan Moore downed Jovan Rebula 3 & 2 to put us on the front foot.
“Rowan du Preez got in front early and played a captain’s innings to win 2-up and Kyle McClatchie secured the important halve against Andre Nel to nail down the win.
“The guys really rallied and they will bring that same spirit to the match against Central. It’s kind of a home game for both unions, because Glendower was part of Central until about two years ago and a lot of the Central guys still practice here. It’s definitely going to be a fight till the end.”
Central Gauteng led Boland 2.5 – 1.5 after the Foursomes, but number one Ryan Dreyer took first blood when he eliminated Daniel Mantel 5 & 4 to set the tone for Singles and Andi Dill, Jason Viljoen, Darin De Smidt and Matthew Spacey racked in the points.
Dill won 4 & 3, Viljoen 2 & 1, De Smidt took a 3 & 2 result and Spacey beat Henri van Wart 3 & 2 to keep the side’s title defence alive.
Western Province was still smarting after their loss to Ekurhuleni on Monday and drew 2-all with Eastern Province in the Foursomes, but they put last year’s B-Section winners on notice in the Singles.
Sean Bradley took the first scalp when he downed Fezekile Kana 6 & 5 and reigning SA Mid-Amateur Stroke Play champion Gerlou Roux followed with a 5 & 4 win against Naldo Claassen.
Skipper Werner Theart won 3 & 2, Michael Sherriff triumphed 2 & 1 and 16-year-old Luca Filippi defeated Jacques Smith 3 & 1 to put Province in control.
Altin van der Merwe secured the four point victory when he downed Sieg Human 2-up in the final game.
SECOND SCORES
Central Gauteng 7.5 – Boland 4.5
Ekurhuleni 7 – Southern Cape 5
Western Province 8 – Eastern Province 4
SECOND ROUND LOG
(Pos-Union-Played-Won-Drawn-Lost-Points-Matches won)
1 Central Gauteng (2, 2, 0, 0, 4, 14.5)
2 Ekurhuleni (2, 2, 0, 0, 4, 14.0)
3 Western Province (2, 1, 0, 1, 2, 13.0)
4 Southern Cape (2, 1, 0, 1, 2, 12.5)
T5 Boland (2, 0, 0, 2, 0, 9.0)
T5 Eastern Province (2, 0, 0, 2, 0, 9.0)
Written and released by Lali Stander on behalf of the South African Golf Association.