Province edges into SA U-19 IPT lead
Western Province and Central Gauteng put a real spanner in the works with pivotal victories in the third round of the A-Division contest at the 2014 South African U-19 Inter- Provincial at Krugersdorp Golf Club on Wednesday.
After successive victories over the first two days, Western Province and Ekurhuleni faced off with two points in hand, although Ekurhuleni carried a slender 1.5 game points advantage into the match.
The teams drew 2-all in the Foursomes, but Province kicked it into high gear in the Singles to walk away with a 7.5 – 4.5 victory that propelled the side to the top of the log.
Central Gauteng scraped through 6.5. – 5.5 against Southern Cape on day one, but scored a convincing three point victory against Gauteng North in round two. However, after trashing Limpopo 10 – 2, the defending champions are within striking distance of Province.
Both teams have six points, but Central Gauteng is just one games point off Western Province’s tally of 25.
Province manager James Wade said the winning margin against Ekurhuleni looks big on paper, but it was by no means an easy win.
“It was no walkover,” Wade said. “The matches were very tight and the Ekurhuleni players fought like demons. We came out on the winning side today, but they have four points and they are not out of this championship yet.
“This contest is still very much open and the next two rounds are going to be a real derby.”
The two teams were tied after the Foursomes with a win and two halves each.
Alaistair Snowdon interrupted a run of three birdies from the eighth with an eagle at the 10th on his way to a 5 & 3 win against Dylan Mostert to put Province’s first point on the board in the Singles, while Hayden Garcia defeated Ruhan van Dijk 4 & 3 to boost the team’s momentum.
Noel Anderson led 2-up through 12, but Chris van Tonder bit back with successive birdies at the 13th and 14th and squared the game.
“I had to fight really hard for my 2 & 1 win,” Anderson said. “We both parred 15, but I hit a good drive down 16 and seven-iron to five feet and made the birdie to win the hole.
“I hit another solid drive at the 18th and was on the green for two, but Chris caught the fairway bunker and he couldn’t up-and-down for par.”
The humdinger between Michael Sherriff and Ekurhuleni’s Jason Froneman ended in stale mate.
“Jason made a couple birdies on the front nine to edge ahead, but then Michael made a few on the back nine and the lead kept changing,” Wade said.
“Michael birdied the 16th to square the game again and they both finished bogey, par to halve.”
Meanwhile Luca Filippi and Luke Trocado both scored 3 & 2 victories, while Ekurhuleni’s Triston Strydom countered with a 3 & 2 win against Province number one, Altin van der Merwe.
Sentanio Minnie earned Ekurhuleni’s other point after handing Cole Cruickshank a 4 & 3 drubbing.
In the final match of the day, Southern Cape rallied after two successive losses to whip Gauteng North 7.5 – 4.5 and move to fourth in the standings.
With just two rounds left, either Gauteng North or Limpopo will need to pull a rabbit out the hat to avoid relegation
A-DIVISION THIRD ROUND RESULTS
Western Province 7.5 vs Ekurhuleni 4.5
Southern Cape 7.5 vs Gauteng North 4.5
Central Gauteng 10.0 vs Limpopo 2.0
A-DIVISION LOG
(Pos-Union-Played-Won-Drawn-Lost-Points-Matches won)
1 Western Province (3, 3, 0, 0, 6, 25.0)
2 Central Gauteng (3, 3, 0, 0, 6, 24.0)
3 Ekurhuleni (3, 2, 0, 1, 4, 23.5)
4 Southern Cape (3, 1, 0, 2, 2, 18.0)
5 Gauteng North (3, 0, 0, 3, 0, 11.5)6 Limpopo (3, 0, 0, 3, 0, 6.0)
Written and released by Lali Stander on behalf of the South African Golf Association.