North West keeps SA Countries title defence on track
North West kept their title defence in the 2019 SA Country Districts on track with successive victories at Plettenberg Bay Country Club; credit GolfRSA.
14 May 2019 – North West kept their title defence on track in the SA Country Districts, but KwaZulu-Natal could pose a serious threat after a thundering second round win at Plettenberg Bay Country Club on Tuesday.
Buoyed by an 8 – 4 win against Limpopo on day one, North West routed Northern Cape in the second round. The defending champions won three of their foursomes and halved the last game take a 3 point cushion into the afternoon session.
Francois Mulder, Allan Toy and former SA first class cricketer, turned commentator Deon Kruis racked up victories for Northern Cape, but Meleko Patric Maichotlo, Gareth Petler, Johan Krugel, Ray Janse van Rensburg and Beyers Smith was all business.
The quintet reeled in a further 5 points to secure a decisive 8.5 – 3.5 win.
North West will have a bye on Wednesday, but the side will keep an eye on KwaZulu-Natal, who mowed down Limpopo 9.5 – 2.5 to catapult to the top spot in the log.
The 2017 champions scored a clean sweep in the foursomes, and carried the momentum into the singles. Koenie Erasmus, Phillip Barnes, Thomas Lovett and Jens Hillerman – playing at six, five, four and two respectively – stacked up 4 points, and Sean Baker made it 9 points when he edged out Tyron Luck with a par at the final hole to win 1-up.
Number one Jason Gulliver was in the driver’s seat against Adam Milanzi, but he lost 16 with a bogey and 17 with a double bogey. Gulliver rallied with a par at 18 to halve the game.
With two wins apiece, 3 games points separate KwaZulu-Natal and North West.
The log leaders will be looking to extend their lead against Northern Cape in round three, while Free State will hope to bounce back from the first round loss with a positive result against Limpopo.
A-SECTION ROUND 2 RESULTS
North West 8.5 vs Northern Cape 3.5
KwaZulu-Natal 9.5 vs Limpopo 2.5
Free State bye
A-SECTION LOG – ROUND 2
(Pos-Union-Played-Won-Drawn-Lost-Points-Matches won)
1 KwaZulu-Natal (2, 2, 0, 0, 4, 19)
2 North West (2, 2, 0, 0, 4, 16.5)
3 Limpopo (2, 0, 0, 2, 0, 6.5)
4 Northern Cape (1, 0, 0, 1, 0, 3.5)
5 Free State (1, 0, 0, 1, 0, 2.5)
Written and released by Lali Stander on behalf of GolfRSA.