Patrick defends his Umkomaas matchplay title
It was good to see a number of young, talented golfers emerge this year.
Patrick Ndlovu has successfully defended his matchplay title at Umkomaas Golf Club.
The past weekend saw the champs contested across the A, B, and C men’s divisions.
Weather and course conditions were perfect and set up for some closes matches.
The A division saw some of our talented youngsters take on the more experienced past champions, with Damien O’Connell beating the 2022 strokeplay champion, Dean Naicker, 2/1 in the first round.
Patrick too experienced for young Tash Naicker and moved through to the final with a 3/2 win.
This would prove to be the same margin of victory in the final against Damien O’Connell.
The B division was also hard-fought.
John Webster took a commanding step into the finals with a 3/2 victory over Saga Reddy, whilst the second match went down the 18th, with Christopher Pillay beating Kavish Seepershad 1-up.
In the final, the lead changed hands a few times, with Christopher eventually beating John 2/1 to retain his B division title.
The C division saw Anil Seepershad emerge victorious over Harold Horsley.
The second round of the SCR league was played at Port Shepstone, after several delays associated with rain and flooding, and the Umkomaas ladies took on long-standing rivals, Toti.
The matches were close, with two going down the 18th.
Number one pairing Sabiha Bacaus-Hulley and Natalie Singer had a tough task, giving 10 shots, but a nett birdie on the last gave them a 1-up victory.
The second match was lost 2/1, but was a good experience for young Catherine Schmidt who partnered Sue Boucher in her first-ever league game for Umkomaas.
Our final pairing, Lesley Fraser and Evija McKelvey, were dovetailing like champions and had a three-up lead at the turn, thanks to a chip-in and sinking several long-range putts.
Unfortunately, after a misstep off the back of the 10th green, Lesley took a tumble damaging her wrist, requiring her to head off to the hospital for x-rays, and Evija to soldier on, on her own.
We’re pleased to report that Lesley is fine, but will be off golf for some weeks as her wrist heals.
Evija held off both opposition players to turn in an impressive 3/2 victory, allowing Umkomaas to beat Toti 4-2, the first time in many years.
In club news, Ian Reid and George Haupt played steady golf to win the combined Stableford with 70 points, one clear of runners-up Sue and Willie Boucher.
Russel and Evija McKelvey amassed 67 points to come in third, whilst Steve Oliver and Mike Dennison’s 63 got them fourth, one better than Peter Toward and Bing Opie in fifth spot.
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