Southerns forced to settle with a half in league opener
There was also a small element of some shock, with number one Gavin Sole losing his game on the last hole.
It wasn’t exactly the start Southern KwaZulu-Natal was looking for in the premier league opener against Umhlali Country Club away last Sunday.
But a share of the spoils with a 6-6 half wasn’t the end of the world and leaves the team in a decent enough position should they be able to win their next three games.
The next one is against Royal Durban at Southbroom Golf Club, with Royal having beaten Mount Edgecombe CC 9,5-2,5 last Sunday, with Beachwood having a bye.
The problem was that Southern KZN threw away a pretty good opportunity after having taken the foursomes 3-1.
There was also a small element of some shock, with number one Gavin Sole losing his game on the last hole.
He’s been so good for so long that any team he plays in banks on his point, but that’s a bit unfair and all the players will need to provide points under pressure if they want to win the league this year.
Having been promoted from the A section last year, no one is really expecting them to do so, but don’t tell the players that.
But getting back to the game…
In the foursomes Graham Fabricius and Kai Hielckert lost to Matt Walters and Mike Matthews 2/1.
David Rush and Jean-Marc Bouic beat Neil Erasmus and Tristan Erdy 2/1.
Chris Zietsman and Jan McDermott beat Josh Karatonis and Jason Herbst 6/5.
Matt Sutherland and Gavin Sole beat Thabiso Magwaza and Lindokuhle Mbokazi 2/1.
In the singles the results were not as good.
Fabricius lost to Matthews 4/3 and Hielckert lost to Walters 5/4.
Rush beat Erasmus 4/3 while Bouic fought hard but lost to Erdy 2-down.
McDermott had a rare off day in the singles and lost to Herbst 4/3, while Zietsman beat Karatonis 6/5 to end up only playing 26 holes on the day.
Sutherland beat Mbokazi 4/3 and Sole lost to Magwaza 1-down.
It was a gripping finish, with players and club members grouped around the back of the 18th green.
Magwaza had about a 20 foot putt for par – after both missed the green – and Sole had about 10 foot.
Magwaza lagged his putt to perfection, with it dropping into the hole with its last breath, thus denying Sole the chance to snatch a half in his game and win the match.
All in all, the match was played in great spirit and it will be interesting to see how the league progresses.
In the other pool, Victoria CC beat Kloof and Durban CC beat Cotswold Downs.
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