The winner of WP vs Boland could be 2008 SA IPT winner

Western Province dominated Gauteng North in singles play on Wednesday to continue to set the pace in the South African Inter Provincial golf tournament at Hermanus Golf Club.

While Gauteng North ran the coastal team close in foursomes play in the morning, Western Province outscored them 6 ½ – 1 ½ in the singles to win the match 9-3.

Kenny Goosen won the only game for Gauteng North, defeating Stephen Swanepoel 3 and 2. Ruan Bornman managed a half with Western Province captain Werner Theart.

It was Gauteng North’s first loss of the week, in their first match against one of the two coastal sides in the A section. The Pretoria boys meet the other one, defending champions Boland, on the final day on Friday.

Western Province’s good form will stand them in good stead for tomorrow’s meeting against Boland, who also had a third consecutive win, having no problems disposing of Ekurhuleni 7-5.

The game saw the first singles defeat for the youngster Keenan Davidse, who went down 2 and 1 to Pieter Moolman, but the rest of the team had no such problems. Johan du Buisson administered the day’s biggest hiding, disposing of Ramon Rahme 7 and 6.

The win sets up a virtual final between the two coastal provinces in Thursday’s play.

In the other A section match, Central Gauteng got their first win of the campaign with a 7 ½ – 4 ½ victory over Free State and Northern Cape. Deane Burmester’s big hitting got a win for the Free Staters, his 5 and 4 win over Yubin Jung one of just two singles victories for them. Louis Calitz got the other, while Jacques Taljaard halved with Central Gauteng’s Ruan Botha.

In B section play, KwaZulu-Natal consolidated their challenge for promotion, beating Border 8 ½ – 3 ½ in a fiercely contested match. While KwaZulu-Natal was always in front, Border fought every game tigerishly.

The biggest margin in any game was the 4 and 3 win Tom Lovett got over Border’s Martin van Seumeren.

Eastern Province also maintained their unbeaten record: After sharing the morning foursomes with Mpumalanga, they edged the singles by a single game to win 6 ½ – 5 ½ with three of the singles games going to the 18th hole.

Lyle Rowe got the big win for Eastern Province with his 5 and 4 win over Coenie Bester, while PG van Zyl got a big one for Mpumalanga with his 6 and 5 victory over Divan du Piesanie.

In the other B section match, Limpopo got their first win, beating neighbours North West Province 7-5 after the two shared the morning foursomes 2-2. Drikus van der Walt got the big win for Limpopo in the singles, defeating Ettienne Bates 5 and 4, with Hylton Hughes beating Hansie Dodds 4 and 2.

For detailed results click here