Ekurhuleni secures hat-trick

Ekurhuleni rose to the occasion on the final day to close out a hat-trick of titles at Oubaai Golf, Hotel and Spa.

They won the South African u-19 Inter-Provincial Championships with the final round being played on Friday (tomorrow).

Ekurhuleni laid down a marker and surged to the top of the log with a strong start against North West (9.5-2.5) and Central Gauteng (8-4) on day one.

After a closely fought battle with Western Province ended in a draw on day two, the Roses rallied to keep their title defence on track with a decisive win against Gauteng North (8-4).

The fight was far from over, though.

Jack Turton guided Ekurhuleni to the winner’s circle in East London in 2017 and again at Benoni Country Club last year.

With Southern Cape, Central Gauteng and Western Province just two points back and still in with a shout, he had one message for his charges.

Also read: Ekurhuleni pair leads South Africa in golf tournament

“Uncle Jack told us we had to beat Southern Cape and it would be tough because the guys would have the local support. We knew Central Gauteng and Western Province would come out guns blazing, so we had to keep fighting for that win,” said young skipper Warwick Purchase.

Central Gauteng had a clean sweep in their foursomes against Gauteng North and Western Province led North West 2.5-1.5, but Ekurhuleni had the edge on Southern Cape too.

“We led them 2.5-1.5 and I told them to fight for every point in the singles and to keep on fighting until our last putt dropped,” Turton said. “I am incredibly proud of this team. Their determination and their will to succeed was amazing and I especially loved their team spirit and the way they supported each other, right up to the very end.”

The four rookies led the challenge in the singles.

Christopher Bagnall at number eight defeated Jay Nathwani three and two and Carel Tromp at number six ousted Ivan Verster four and two to take the team to 4.5 points.

“Giaconi Middel (one and three) and Grant Ferreira (one and two) had narrow losses, and it was down to our veterans to get the job done. And they really dig their heels in to get us the win,” said Turton.

“Yurav (Premlall) at number two was always up in his game, but the others were all down. Mujahid Jacobs put up a massive fight, but Yurav closed out a two-up win to take us to 5.5 points. Then Warwick won the 15th hole and won it for us with a two and one result against Barend Botha.”

The rest of the team cheered on for Ryan van Velzen, who downed James Murray two and one, and number one Casey Jarvis, who defeated Southern Cape number one Damian Osner one-up to seal an 8.5-3.5 victory for Ekurhuleni.

Technical adviser and assistant manager van Velzen said the team’s preparation for the premier junior team event was key to their success.

“We had some foursomes practise sessions before we came down to Oubaai and we also worked on ball striking with our rookies,” he said. “Coming from the highveld, the boys are used to hitting the ball very high, and since we knew we would be facing the wind at the coast, we taught the boys some finesse in keeping the ball lower and controlling the spin of the ball.

“As expected, the veterans on the team were brilliant, but hats off to the rookies, who did a fantastic job for us in the windy conditions, especially over the first three days.”

Purchase believes the practice sessions helped, but it was Turton’s touch that helped the team come up for a third successive year.

“Uncle Jack put the belief in us that we could win it,” he said. “Just like he did when we were rookies in East London and last year. And he created a great team environment. We fought hard, but we had a lot of fun. IPT is about winning matches, but it’s also about having fun, meeting new people and making friends.

“Uncle Jack and Uncle Rob give us that space. We made lifelong friendships in our junior IPTs over the years that we will carry through our lives. I’m super, super proud of the team, especially in the way that we hung tough in the final round to finish the week unbeaten. Winning IPTs is a team effort, and every guy on our team put his hand up this week.”

Van Velzen also secured the top spot in the Most Valuable Player standings for the week, banking the full 12 points on offer.

Also read: Ekurhuleni continues to impress

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