Western Province dig deep to defend SA IPT title

12 April 2025 – Western Province left it to the very end to prevail as champions at the recent South African Inter-Provincial Tournament, while Boland regained their A-Section standing in a thrilling promotion battle at Silver Lakes Golf and Wildlife Estate.

The tournament lived up to its billing as one of the premier events on the South African golf calendar as the best amateur talent attempted to dethrone Western Province and it appeared that there would be new champions for a large majority of the week as the defending champions lost to hosts Gauteng North 8.5 – 3.5.

It was a result that set the tone for the week as sides battled each other for momentum in their respective bids for top honours.

The final day was another thrill a minute affair as Southern Cape pulled one out of the hat to beat log leaders Central Gauteng 6.5 – 5.5 despite losing the foursomes 3-1. That result combined with Eastern Province beating Gauteng North 6.5 – 5.5 and Western Province sealing a commanding 9 – 3 win over North West left the trophy heading back with the same side that brought it to the venue for the week.

Winning captain Andrew Georgiou happily admitted that his side were up against it, not just as the tournament played out but even before they teed off in game one.

“The guys fought so hard … I’m so proud, ” he said. “As the defending champions you always have the target on your back. It makes things more difficult and then losing to the hosts on the first day, well that just the task of retaining our title all the more difficult.

“But now, standing here with the trophy … It’s amazing. I’m so so proud of the team going back to back. We kept our spirits up despite the setbacks and of course, I can say now that the win over Central Gauteng helped us a lot.”

Ahead of the last push, Western Province huddled for a pep talk which clearly resonated with the team.

“We went out for dinner and we kind of laid it out there,” Georgio said. “We knew we had to win but I wanted the side to know that as individuals, they had all played well, all deserved their spots and wanted to motivate them to go out and win and then see if that would be enough.

“Going out and having fun was the message really.”

Western Province began with a bang and won the first session on the final day against North West 3.5 – 0.5 but the job wasn’t done. “Wow, the team started off so well, but we still had to win the singles. We still needed a bit of luck from Central Gauteng and Southern Cape … and we got it, so I guess it was meant to be. All the drama of the final day goes to show how close the level is between the sides and the standard of competition is so high. Every single match is a fight to the end.

“North West could’ve won with a win over us and Central could’ve won … so are so grateful to have come out on top,” added Georgiou.

Eastern Province were the unfortunate team to finish bottom of the A-Section and will be replaced by Boland, who edged Ekurhuleni into top spot. Kwazulu-Natal finished third in a competitive week at Silver Lakes.

Boland captain Wilco Hall was blown away by just how well his team pulled together.

“This is a special team … it’s a brotherhood. We went out there to win as a team, for each other and our union. We really gelled and it’s just a special result. For us, we know we have the winning recipe – our team spirit really played a factor and if we can keep this going, we will be staying in the A division for many years to come.

Western Province’s Dan Copeman edged Dewan de Bruin from Southern Cape by 0.5 points to top the Most Valuable Player list for the A-Section on 8.5 points. His teammate Cole Cruickshank shared third on 7 points with Minjun Heo from North West, Central Gauteng’s Grant Labuschagne and Ivan Verster from Southern Cape.

Werner Potgieter and Clive Palm shared the B-Section Most Valuable Player honours for the week as they both managed to claim 8.5 points for their efforts. Pieter Swart and Janus Roberts were next best with 8 points while David Mofokeng joined his teammate Swart as a top performer with 7.5 points.

Final A-Section Log:
1 Western Province – 7 points (34 games points)
2 Central Gauteng – 6 points (34.5 games points)
3 North West – 6 points (30 games points)
4 Gauteng North – 4 points (31.5 games points)
5 Southern Cape – 4 points (28 games points)
6 Eastern Province – 3 points (24 games points)

Final B-Section Log:
1 Boland – 9 points (37.5 games points)
2 Ekurhuleni – 7 points (33.5 games points)
3 Kwazulu-Natal – 6 points (32 games points)
4 Free State – 4 points (28.5 games points)
5 Mpumalanga – 2 points (27 games points)
6 Border – 2 points (21.5 games points)