WAS it the presence of Gavin Sole that saw the Southern KwaZulu-Natal league team lift their game last Sunday?
Or was it because Bluff National Park’s captain Mark Warrener was away getting married?
Probably a bit of both.
Whatever the case, Southern KZN clinched a vital away win, beating Bluff 8,5-3,5 on a day so hot and humid it suggests we could be in for an extended summer and a short winter.
There was early foursomes trouble though … and all four matches went down the 18th hole.
Elvis Khawula and Mikhail van Brakel beat Mark Dean and Leon Maritz 1-up, but Jarrod van Wyk and Robert Mavundla lost 1-down to Martin James and Patrick Fitzgerald.
Gavin Sole and Gary Purtell lost 1-down to Jared Lubbe and Max Magnussen.
Jason Gilliver and Graham Fabricius halved against Calvin Steinhobel and Keegan Hezlett.
Considering the foursomes were so ‘on-the-edge-of-your-seat’ tight, it was surprising that the singles were so one-sided.
Van Brakel beat Dean 4/3 and seems to be over the worst of his wrist injury.
It was he that suggested that just having Sole there had made a difference. “Gav gave us some inspiration before we left. He has that affect, we lifted our games,” he said.
Van Wyk won 2/1 over Maritz. Although squash is his number one sport, it was good to see him back in the mix, winning.
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Purtell lost 2-down to Magnussen, which was not a bad result against a very good player on his home track.
“I think Max knows each blade of grass at Bluff by name,” quipped Purtell.
Khawula beat Fitzgerald 1-up and Mavundla beat James 5/4. Fabricius had no trouble brushing off Hezlett 4/3.
Gilliver beat Lubbe 2/1 and Sole beat Steinhobel 2/1, evening a small score from when Steinhobel beat him when playing for Royal Durban a few years ago.
Next game is against Mount Edgecombe CC at Southbroom on March 18.
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