MIDDELBURG (13 October 2014) – KwaZulu-Natal, Ekurhuleni and defending champions Western Province came up trumps in the first round of the South African Mid-Amateur Inter-Provincial, while Gauteng North and Mpumalanga made an early case for B-Section promotion at Middelburg Golf Club on Monday.
A-SECTION
Western Province got their title defence underway with a narrow 6.5 – 5.5 victory against A-Section newcomers, Eastern Province.
Two-all after the Foursomes, Michael Holden (EP), Ludwig Schreuder (WP), Johan Vorster (EP) and Riaan Lewis (WP) traded blows in the Singles, until Dirk van der Merwe an Johnny Ludick halved their game to square the score at 3.5-all.
David Konzani put Eastern Province ahead with a 1-up win, but Cameron Johnston countered with a 3&2 result against Ryno Ferreira.
It was down to Province number one, Gerlou Roux, to break the deadlock and the Bellville golfer delivered with a 3&2 victory against Karl du Preez.
KwaZulu-Natal lost two Foursomes and halved another, but the coastal side rallied with six Singles victories to defeat North West 7.5 – 4.5.
Clive Lazarus, Brendan Adlam, Keith Forde, David Brown, Dale Burraston and Elton James reeled in the Singles points for KZN, while Johan Krugel and Daniel Jansen van Vuuren put North West’s points on the board.
Ekurhuleni worked a 2.5 – 1.5 lead in Foursomes to a 7 – 5 victory in their opener against Central Gauteng.
Evan Mackenzie, Hugo Delport, Rowan du Preez and former professional Jaco Rall scored the winning points for Ekurhuleni, while Adolf van der Merwe halved with Central’s Grant Wood and Leon de Lange Kevin Sharp and Steve Williams rallied for the rest of Central’s five points.
B-SECTION
After a near whitewash in the Foursomes, Gauteng North turned the tables on Boland in the Singles to triumph 8 – 4.
Having halved a Foursome and losing three more, Gauteng North was on the backfoot, but Jauqo Jacobs stemmed the bleeding with a 6&5 win against Jahndre du Toit.
Philip Croukamp won 4&3 to give the team a little breathing room and Gustav Verster, Pieter Cooper, Louis Jonck, Martin Kraft and Kelso Hannay added to their tally.
Ashley Atkinson squared his game against Bennie van Loggerenberg to secure Boland’s only gain in the Singles.
The side was equally impressive in their Singles against Free State and scored a 9 – 3 victory to vault to the top of the standings and a 1.5 lead in games points over Mpumalanga, who enjoyed an equally great day at the office.
Mpumalanga whipped Southern Cape 8 – 4 and defeated Border 8.5 – 3.5.
Jan Jacobs partnered Philip Heyns, Brian Naidoo combined with Steve Smit and Eddie Daniel and Jaco Buitendag from Mpumalanga dovetailed perfectly to win three of the four Foursomes against both teams.
Naidoo, Smit and Buitendag carried their winning form into the Singles, while Jasper van der Westhuizen beat Southern Cape’s Henk Geldenhuys 1-up and halved his match against Border’s Johan de Plessis.
In the final two matches, Free State pushed Boland to fifth in the standings with a 6.5 – 5.5, while Southern Cape dispatched Border to the bottom of the log by the same winning margin.
A-Section – Day 1 Results
Western Province 6.5 vs Eastern Province 5.5
KwaZulu-Natal 7.5 vs North West 4.5
Ekurhuleni 7.0 vs Central Gauteng 5.0
A-Section Log
(Pos-Union-Played-Won-Drawn-Lost-Points-Matches won)
1 KwaZulu-Natal (1, 1, 0, 0, 2, 7.5)
2 Ekurhuleni (1, 1, 0, 0, 2, 7.0)
3 Western Province (1, 1, 0, 0, 2, 6.5)
4 Eastern Province (1, 0, 0, 1, 0, 5.5)
5 Central Gauteng (1, 0, 0, 1, 0, 5.0)
6 North West (1, 0, 0, 1, 0, 4.5)
B-Section – Day 1 Results
Boland 4.0 vs Gauteng North 8.0
Gauteng North 9.0 vs Free State 3.0
Boland 5.5 vs Free State 6.5
Mpumalanga 8.0 vs Southern Cape 4.0
Southern Cape 6.5 vs Border 5.5
Mpumalanga 8.5 vs Border 3.5
B-Section Log
(Pos-Union-Played-Won-Drawn-Lost-Points-Matches won)
1 Gauteng North (2, 2, 0, 0, 4, 17.0)
2 Mpumalanga (2, 2, 0, 0, 4, 16.5)
3 Southern Cape (2, 1, 0, 1, 2, 10.5)
4 Free State (2, 1, 0, 1, 2, 9.5)
5 Boland (2, 0, 0, 2, 0, 9.5)
6 Border (2, 0, 0, 2, 0, 9.0)
Written and released by Lali Stander on behalf of the South African Golf Association.
