SA Mid-Am IPT goes down to the wire
Ekurhuleni and Central Gauteng will make major push for glory in the final round of the South African Mid-Amateur Inter-Provincial on Friday, while Mpumalanga and Gauteng North are heading for an epic showdown in the battle for promotion at Middelburg Golf Club.
A-SECTION
Ekurhuleni stayed on a winning spree after a solid third round victory with an inspired performance against Western Province to set up their first victory since 2010.
The team stretched a 3 – 1 Foursomes lead to a 9.5 – 2.5 triumph against the defending champions and vaulted into pole position with one round to play.
Jaco Rall claimed a comprehensive 6&5 victory, Rowan du Preez triumphed 3&2, while Evan Mackenzie, Adolf van der Merwe and Hugo Delport all clocked in with 2&1 wins.
Jan Delport downed Province number one, Gerlou Roux, 1-up in a tough battle to put the seal on the spectacular performance for the Ekurhuleni team.
Western Province’s Ludwig Schreuder beat Brian Peterson 2&1 gain a lone point for the side in the Singles, while while Cameron Johnston squared his match against Craig Bell for the half point.
Ekurhuleni manager, Martin Saaiman, warned that victory is not a foregone conclusion.
“We top the log with six points, but Central Gauteng also has six points in hand,” Saaiman said.
“Central Gauteng beat KwaZulu-Natal 7 – 5 and we have a target on our back. We do have a 2.5 games-points advantage, though, so we will have to drive home a solid victory against Eastern Province to take the trophy home.
“I have faith in the guys, because they made a massive comeback after our loss against Free State. We need to go in hard to get ahead in the Foursomes and give ourselves a boost ahead of the singles. Then we just need to bring it home.”
Central dominated the Foursomes against KwaZulu-Natal and led 3.5 – 0, but the coastal side gave them a run for their money in the Singles.
Grant Wood and Sean Quigley were the only players claim victories, but Leon de Lange, Kevin Sharp and Steve Williams battled brilliantly to square their matches and add the crucial 1.5 points to the team’s tally.
The final A-Section match between North West and Eastern Province finished in a 6-all stalemate.
B-SECTION
Gauteng North went on the rampage with emphatic victories over Border and Limpopo to strengthen their bid for promotion.
Mpumalanga protected their number one spot with a 7.5 – 4.5 victory against Free State and hold the top with 10 points. Gauteng North is second and just one spot behind the log leaders after handing Border a 8.5 – 3.5 drubbing and trashing Limpopo 9 – 3.
It will take a tremendous effort, though, to deny the host union on Friday as the promotion battle goes down the wire in front of a home crowd.
The final match between Limpopo and Border went the way of the Eastern Cape side, who celebrated a 7 – 5 victory.
Click HERE for A-Section Results and Log
Click HERE for B-Section Results and Log
Written and released by Lali Stander on behalf of the South African Golf Association.