JOHANNESBURG, 13 April 2016 – Western Province and Central Gauteng enjoyed a productive start in Tuesday’s opening round of the 2016 INDWE SA Senior Amateur Inter-Provincial at the Wanderers Golf Club.
Central Gauteng beat both their first round opponents, while the defending champions defeated North West by four points and held off a spirited challenge from Gauteng North for a one point victory.
Central Gauteng laid a solid foundation in the foursomes with a 3 – 1 lead against Ekurhuleni and a 2.5 – 1.5 advantage over Eastern Province.
Richard Bruyns, Greg Gleeson, Gavin van Aswegen, Stephen Johnston and Steve Williams delivered the winning blows in the singles to see Central Gauteng defeat Ekurhuleni 8 – 4.
Gleeson, Van Aswegen, Williams, Schalk Naude also collected points against their opposite numbers from the Eastern Province to put Central Gauteng in the driver’s seat. Jock Wellington won his match against Mzuyanda Zingela and Johnston halved against reigning INDWE SA Senior Amateur Stroke Play champion David Konzani to sure another 8 – 4 result for the host union.
Meanwhile Western Province edged 3-1 ahead in their foursomes against North West and held a tidy 3.5 – 0.5 lead over Gauteng North.
Tony Bailey, Japie Koopman, Herman September, Brian Mampies and Francois le Roux reeled in the points to give Province an 8 – 4 victory over North West, but the defending champions had a much tougher time of it to get the win against Gauteng North.
Bailey and Mampies collected two points for Province, but Adrian Kriel, Gerhard Strydom, Gordon Wessels and Mellette Hendrikse countered to put Gauteng North back in the attack.
However, Hugo Calitz and Andrew Cleopas halved their respective matches against Christie le Roux and Chris Delport to guarantee a 6.5 – 5.5 result for Province.
In the remaining matches, Southern Cape beat KwaZulu-Natal 6.5 – 5.5, Ekurhuleni edged Eastern Province to win 6.5 – 5.5, while Gauteng North and North West drew 6-all.
In today’s second round, the Central Gauteng seniors takes on neighbours Gauteng North, while Western Province goes head-to-head with Southern Cape and Eastern Province and KwaZulu-Natal plays Ekurhuleni and North West.
Super Seniors
The Western Province Super Senior side also got their title bid for a fifth victory in six years off to a winning start when they defeated Southern Cape 4.5 – 1.5.
Ekurhuleni gunned down Gauteng North 5.5 – 0.5 and KwaZulu-Natal edged out Central Gauteng 3.5 – 2.5.
The defending champions go up against Ekurhuleni in today’s second round, KwaZulu-Natal will be looking for more success in their match against Southern Cape and neighbours Gauteng North and Central Gauteng face off in the final match.
B-DIVISION
Northern Cape surged to the top spot in the B-Section log with an 8 – 4 victory over Free State and Mpumalanga – relegated in Benoni last year – also made an impressive start with a 7.5 – 4.5 result against Boland.
Limpopo enjoyed a first round bye and will get their first match underway against Mpumalanga on Wednesday, while Free State takes on Boland.
PHOTO – Ernest Motase (Gauteng North), Colin Weinstein (Central Gauteng), Smart Ncube (Central Gauteng) and Jan Theunissen (Gauteng North); credit David Younge.