PLETTENBERG BAY, 14 May 2019 – North West kept their title defence on track in the SA Country Districts, but KwaZulu-Natal could pose a serious threat after a thundering second round win at Plettenberg Bay Golf Club on Tuesday.
Meanwhile Southern Cape swept to victory in their opening salvo in the B-Section as Boland took the lead in the promotion battle on Tuesday.
A-SECTION
Buoyed by an 8 – 4 win against Limpopo on day one, North West routed Northern Cape in the second round. The defending champions won three of their foursomes and halved the last game take a 3 point cushion into the afternoon session.
Francois Mulder, Allan Toy and former SA first class cricketer, turned commentator Deon Kruis racked up victories for Northern Cape, but Meleko Patric Maichotlo, Gareth Petler, Johan Krugel, Ray Janse van Rensburg and Beyers Smith was all business.
The quintet reeled in a further 5 points to secure a decisive 8.5 – 3.5 win.
North West will have a bye on Wednesday, but the side will keep an eye on KwaZulu-Natal, who mowed down Limpopo 9.5 – 2.5 to catapult to the top spot in the log.
The 2017 champions scored a clean sweep in the foursomes, and carried the momentum into the singles. Koenie Erasmus, Phillip Barnes, Thomas Lovett and Jens Hillerman – playing at six, five, four and two respectively – stacked up 4 points, and Sean Baker made it 9 points when he edged out Tyron Luck with a par at the final hole to win 1-up.
Number one Jason Gulliver was in the driver’s seat against Adam Milanzi, but he lost 16 with a bogey and 17 with a double bogey. Gulliver rallied with a par at 18 to halve the game.
With two wins apiece, 3 games points separate KwaZulu-Natal and North West.
The log leaders will be looking to extend their lead against Northern Cape in round three, while Free State will hope to bounce back from the first round loss with a positive result against Limpopo.
B-SECTION
Southern Cape gave the home crowd plenty to cheer about with an 8.5 – 3.5 win against Mpumalanga on day two.
The host union drew 2-all in the foursomes, but stepped it up in the singles. Ian Norgarb set the tone when he knocked out Anton Steenkamp 4 & 2, and Marlo Pienaar beat Darren Neyt 3 & 2 to put the Garden Route side ahead.
Meyer Potgieter, Henk Geldenhuys, Brandon Cloete and James Faber followed suit. Lukas Steyn lost 2 & 1 to Drikus Joubert, but number eight Graham Daubern squared against Jan Combrink.
The positive result moved Southern Cape to third in the log.
Mpumalanga held on to second spot with 13 game points, while Boland’s crushing 10 – 2 victory over Border catapulted the side to the top of the pile with 4 points and 18 game points.
Boland lost one game and halved another in the foursomes, but the side shifted into high gear in the afternoon session.
Anton Pieters, WP Botha and Cedric Rooi – playing at seven, six and five – all won 5 & 4, while Clement Thomas De Bruin beat Gerhard Visagie 4 & 3 to push their tally to 6.5 points. Jaco Pieters won 2-up, Daniel Cronje beat Mpumalanga number one Oswin Schlenkrich 1-up and Coenraad Swanepoel halved his game against Dewald Smit.
The log leaders go head-to-head with Southern Cape on Wednesday, Border play Eastern Province and Mpumalanga has a third round bye.
A-SECTION ROUND 2 RESULTS
North West 8.5 vs Northern Cape 3.5
KwaZulu-Natal 9.5 vs Limpopo 2.5
Free State bye
A-SECTION LOG – ROUND 2
(Pos-Union-Played-Won-Drawn-Lost-Points-Matches won)
1 KwaZulu-Natal (2, 2, 0, 0, 4, 19)
2 North West (2, 2, 0, 0, 4, 16.5)
3 Limpopo (2, 0, 0, 2, 0, 6.5)
4 Northern Cape (1, 0, 0, 1, 0, 3.5)
5 Free State (1, 0, 0, 1, 0, 2.5)
B-SECTION ROUND 2 RESULTS
Southern Cape 8.5 vs Mpumalanga 3.5
Boland 10 vs Border 2
Eastern Province bye
Southern Cape 8.5 vs Mpumalanga 3.5
Foursomes:
Pienaar / Daubern lost to Joubert / Neyt 2Down;
Potgieter / Norgarb beat Steenkamp / Combrink 3 & 2;
Cloete / Geldenhuys beat Jacobs / Zietsman 5 & 4;
Faber / Steyn lost to Strydom / Ferreira 3 & 2;
Singles:
Graham Daubern halved with Jan Combrink;
Marlo Pienaar beat Darren Neyt 3 & 2;
Ian Norgarb beat Anton Steenkamp 4 & 2;
Meyer Potgieter beat Chris Zietsman 2 & 1;
Henk Geldenhuys beat Mark Ferreira 3 & 1;
Brandon Cloete beat Ian Jacobs 2 & 1;
James Faber beat Devon Strydom 1Up;
Lukas Steyn lost to Drikus Joubert 2 & 1;
B-SECTION LOG – ROUND 2
(Pos-Union-Played-Won-Drawn-Lost-Points-Matches won)
1 Boland (2, 2, 0, 0, 4, 18)
2 Mpumalanga (2, 1, 0, 1, 2, 13)
3 Southern Cape (1, 1, 0, 0, 2, 8.5)
4 Border (2, 0, 0, 2, 0, 4.5)
5 Eastern Province (1, 0, 0, 1, 0, 4)
PHOTO – North West kept their title defence in the 2019 SA Country Districts on track with successive victories at Plettenberg Bay Country Club; credit GolfRSA.
