Showdown looms at SA U-19 IPT
Western Province and Central Gauteng will face off in Friday’s final round of the South African Under-19 Inter-Provincial in what promises to be an epic battle for supremacy, while Ekurhuleni has an outside chance taking the A-Division title at Krugersdorp Golf Club.
Western Province downed Gauteng North 8.5 – 3.5 in the weather-interrupted fourth round and tops the log with eight points, while Ekurhuleni scored a narrow 6.5 – 5.5 victory against Central Gauteng to tie the defending champions on six points.
If Central wins the final tussle against Province and Ekurhuleni beat Southern Cape by a hefty margin, it could all still come down to game points.
However, the Garden Route side showed their mettle against Limpopo with a clean sweep in the Foursomes. Alex van Wyk, playing at six, set the tone for Southern Cape when he hammered AJ Smit 9 & 7 and the team notched six more Single victories to triumph 11 – 1.
Province manager James Wade said the team will take nothing for granted.
“Central Gauteng will be smarting after this loss and will bring everything to the final match,” he said. “We are prepared for a marathon and will bring the same intensity that has carried us so far this week.”
The fourth round was interrupted by a heavy deluge and lightning that forced a long suspension and just as players were preparing to go back on the course, another storm moved in from the opposite direction, causing further delays.
“It was a very testing day for all the players, because it’s tricky to keep focussed when play is interrupted like today,” Wade said. “We held a 3 – 1 lead after the Foursomes and the lads showed a lot of composure and character to pick up where we left off once we got back on the course.”
Province’s Luke Trocado once again set led the way with a 5 & 4 result against Estiaan Conradie. Cole Cruickshank, Noel Anderson and Luca Fillippi all scored 4 & 3 victories to boost Province’s tally.
Altin van der Merwe defeated Gauteng North’s number one Albert Venter 1-up and Michaeal Sherriff added the half point when he squared his game against Stefan Wears-Taylor.
Rosswell Sinclair defeated Alastair Snowdon 3 & 2 and Ofenste Nukeri, a last-minute replacement on the side, triumphed 1-up against Hayden Garcia for Gauteng North.
Meanwhile Central Gauteng and Ekurhuleni halved the Foursomes and the Singles went down the wire.
Fritz Orren claimed first blood for Central when he downed Chris van Tonder 4 & 2, but Sentanio Minnie levelled the scores when he thumped Keelan van Wyk 4 & 3.
Ruhan van Dijk swung the momentum in Ekurhuleni’s favour when he halved against Dean Martin, but Karabo Mokoena drained a birdie putt at the 18th against Jason Froneman to square the match.
Then Dylan Mostert downed David Meyers 2-up and Paul Boshoff defeated Dylan Naidoo 1-up to put Ekurhuleni ahead 6 – 4.
Marco Steyn scored a big point when he defeated Ekurhuleni number one, Triston Strydom, 1-up, but Rupert Kaminsky’s birdie at 18 to halve against Kyle McClatchie came too late to give Central a draw.
A-DIVISION ROUND FOUR RESULTS
Central Gauteng 5.5 vs Ekurhuleni 6.5
Limpopo 1.0 vs Southern Cape 11.0
Western Province 8.5 vs Gauteng North 3.5
A-DIVISION LOG
(Pos-Union-Played-Won-Drawn-Lost-Points-Matches won)
1 Western Province (4, 4, 0, 0, 8, 33.5)
2 Ekurhuleni (4, 3, 0, 1, 6, 30.0)
3 Central Gauteng (4, 3, 0, 1, 6, 29.5)
4 Southern Cape (4, 2, 0, 2, 4, 29.0)
5 Gauteng North (4, 0, 0, 4, 0, 15.0)
6 Limpopo (4, 0, 0, 4, 0, 7.0)
Written and released by Lali Stander on behalf of the South African Golf Association.