Southern Cape showed some impressive form in their opening gambit to surge to the top of the log after defeating Ekurhuleni 8 – 4 and KwaZulu-Natal 8.5 – 3.5.
The Garden Route side made a superb start to lead Ekurhuleni 3.5 – 0.5 and KwaZulu-Natal 2.5 – 1.5 in the Foursomes. Julien Sale won 6 & 4 and Caylum Boone 5 & 4 to set the tone for Southern Cape in the Singles against Ekurhuleni, while Alan Lones claimed first blood for the team against Kwazulu-Natal.
“I asked the lads to give us a strong start and they really delivered,” said manager Roger Wessels.
“They played high quality golf, which was really remarkable given that most of them have been sitting exams and haven’t had a lot of competitive rounds coming into the championship.
“We have quite a bit of experience with some players making a third or fourth appearance and Jovan Rebula playing his sixth SA U-19 IPT. That experience definitely came through, especially Julien, Caylum and Jovan, who all won at their last holes.
“I was also really impressed by our youngest player, 13-year-old Martin Vorster. This is his first SA U-19 IPT and he played a champion’s innings under huge pressure. Martin was four down with five to play against KwaZulu-Natal, but he rallied to halve his game.
“The team spirit is really fantastic among the players and I was inspired by their tenacity and commitment.”
Meanwhile Western Province eked out a 6.5 – 5.5 win against Central Gauteng, but failed to take control of their match against Gauteng North. The defending champions had to settle for second on the log after the two teams drew 6-all.
Gauteng North edged into third place in the log on games points after squaring against Central Gauteng, while Ekurhuleni slipped into fourth place after defeating KwaZulu-Natal 6.5 – 5.5.
Free State and North West made the best possible start in the battle for promotion with two victories apiece.
After taking a commanding lead 3 – 1 lead over Mpumalanga and a clean sweep against Border in the Foursomes, Free State demolished Border 12 – 0 and handed Mpumalanga an 8.5 – 3.5 drubbing.
Ge-Rico Muller took the first scalp for Free State against Border when he downed Dylan Reid 6 & 4.
Wilco Nienaber won 5 & 4 and Therion Nel, Leander Snyman and Ruan Pretorius followed with 4 & 3 victories to keep the momentum going.
Franco Froneman (3 & 2), Attie van Wyk (3 & 1) and Stephen le Roux (2 & 1) drove home the victory.
“It was quite incredible to watch this team go to work to get us off to a solid start,” said team manager Nicky Nel.
“It’s much harder to get to the A-Section than it is to stay there. To gain promotion, you have to start well and you have to keep winning, while you only need to win one match to keep your A-Section status.
“For five of our guys it’s their last SA U-19 IPT and they want to finish their junior careers with a promotion. We came really close last year when we tied for second with Boland, but we lost out in a games points count out on the automatic promotion this year. Therion, Wilco, Ruan and Stephen also played the SA U-23 IPT and finished second, so there is a lot of pride at stake this week.”
North West trailed Eastern Province 1.5 – 2.5 and was tied 2-all with Limpopo after the Foursomes, but the eight-man side mounted a spirited charge in the Singles to defeat both opponents 7.5 – 4.5.
A-SECTION RESULTS – DAY 1
Western Province 6 vs Gauteng North 6
Gauteng North 6 vs Central Gauteng 6
Western Province 6.5 vs Central Gauteng 5.5
KwaZulu-Natal 5.5 vs Ekurhuleni 6.5
Ekurhuleni 4 vs Southern Cape 8
KwaZulu-Natal 3.5 vs Southern Cape 8.5
A-SECTION LOG
(Pos-Union-Played-Won-Drawn-Lost-Points-Matches won)
1 Southern Cape (2, 2, 0, 0, 4, 16.5)
2 Western Province (2, 1, 1, 0, 3, 12.5)
3 Gauteng North (2, 0, 2, 0, 2, 12.0)
4 Ekurhuleni (2, 1, 0, 1, 2, 10.5)
5 Central Gauteng (2, 0, 1, 1, 1, 11.5)
6 KwaZulu-Natal (2, 0, 0, 2, 0, 9.0)
B-SECTION RESULTS
Limpopo 4.5 vs North West 7.5
North West 7.5 vs Eastern Province 4.5
Limpopo 5.0 vs Eastern Province 7.0
Border 0 vs Free State 12
Free State 8.5 vs Mpumalanga 3.5
Border 2.5 vs Mpumalanga 9.5
B-SECTION LOG
(Pos-Union-Played-Won-Drawn-Lost-Points-Matches won)
1 Free State (2, 2, 0, 0, 4, 20.5)
2 North West (2, 2, 0, 0, 4, 15.0)
3 Mpumalanga (2, 1, 0, 1, 2, 13.0)
4 Eastern Province (2, 1, 0, 1, 2, 11.5)
5 Limpopo (2, 0, 0, 2, 0, 9.5)
6 Border (2, 0, 0, 2, 0, 2.5)
ARTICLE: LALI STANDER
