SA takes France in Test

South Africa’s Mid-Amateur team is upbeat ahead of the prestigious International Team Mid-Amateur Championship on Friday after defeating France 5.5 – 2.5 in a two-day Test at the Golf Du Medoc Resort near Bordeaux.

The two teams faced off at the Chateaux course over 36 holes of Foursomes and Betterball in Wednesday’s first round.

After they drew the Foursomes, Steve Williams from Gauteng and Gerlou Roux from Western Province triumphed 2&1 and Elton James from Province partnered Josef Fourie from Free State to win 1-up in the Betterball to lead 3 – 1.

France’s Thibault Courmont claimed first blood in the Singles on Thursday when he downed James 2-up, but Fourie kept South Africa in the driver’s seat when he defeated Loic Arrieula 3&2.

Williams beat Julien Brocas 4&3 to boost the South Africa tally, but Brizay holed a 50-footer to halve the match against Roux.

South Africa made their debut in the top international team competition in 2014 and Fourie partnered Greg Sheard, Graeme Watson and David Muller to a third place finish.

“We are definitely buoyed by our performance in the Test,” Fourie said

“After three practice rounds and the two-day Test, we feel that we have the measure of the Chateaux course and we believe we can do better this year,” Fourie said.

The South African team will take on teams from France, Italy, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland and a host of local clubs from the Bordeaux region.

The format of the International Team Mid-Amateur Championship will see the field compete in an 18-hole stroke play qualifier.

The top three scores from each country will count towards the team’s total and the teams will then be seeded into two groups of eight.

The teams will play two matches on day two and one match on the final day. Matches consist of two singles and one foursomes matches where a total of three points are available.

Written and released by Lali Stander on behalf of the South African Golf Association.