DOWERGLEN (23 September 2015) – Gauteng North continued its rampage with another blistering performance at Glendower Golf Club on Wednesday to edge ahead of KwaZulu-Natal in the promotion battle in the 55th South African Inter-Provincial, sponsored by Tempest.
The 2013 champions demolished Limpopo 11 – 1 in their opening game and defeated Mpumalanga 8 – 4 in round two. Free State was the latest team to fold under the full assault of the Daisies.
After enduring a 10.5 – 1.5 drubbing, the defeated Free State side could only echoe the sentiments of Limpopo:
“These guys shouldn’t be in a B-Section. We need to get rid of them; the sooner the better.”
Gauteng North went on the early attack with a 3 – 1 lead in the Foursomes and skipper Andrew van der Knaap sent Henning de Jager packing 5 & 4 to set the tone for the Singles.
James du Preez downed Richard Maree 5 & 3 and Ross Sinclair and Teaghan Gauche racked in two more points with 4 & 3 results.
Marco Loubser trumped Roedu du Plessis 3 & 2, Keegan de Lange eliminated Blaine Dormehl 3 & 2 and Hendrikus Stoop beat Juran Dreyer 2-up.
Andre van Zyl managed to grab half a point for Free State when he halved against Jason Smith.
“I am really proud of what the boys have accomplished so far,” said manager Gerry Few.
“Andrew’s leadership has been exceptional and vital to our performance. The team spirit is absolutely outstanding and there is fantastic synergy between the players.
“An inter-provincial is played over five rounds and we still have two teams to play. You cannot afford to become smug or over-confident in this format, so we will approach North West with the same intensity as in our first three matches.”
KwaZulu-Natal had a tougher time of it, but the 2009 champions prevailed to beat North West 7 – 5.
This tied the coastal side with Gauteng North on six points each, however, the Daisies have a three point edge with 29.5 game points.
North West squared the Foursomes, but the first three points went the way of KZN in the Singles.
Luke Mayo and Siyanda Mwandla both won 3 & 2 and Anuerin Gounden beat SP Campher 2-up.
Riaan Swart, Danie van Niekerk and Aubrey Beckley retaliated for North West, but Matt Saulez, Clayton Mansfield and Malcolm Mitchell wrapped the two point victory.
In the final B-Section clash, Mpumalanga marched to an 8 – 4 victory against Limpopo.
Having taken a 3 – 1 lead in the Foursomes, Hannes van Dyk, Kevin Smith, Quintin Wilsnach and Lourens Volschenk rallied for victories to put Mpumalanga firmly in the driver’s seat.
Devon Strydom and Jaun van Greunen collected their eighth point when they halved against Gerhard Pepler and Ricardo Loock respectively.
Cameron Nesmith downed Andre van Heerden 2-up and Hilton Hughes beat Stephen Morrison 5 & 4 in the final two games to add to Limpopo’s tally.
THIRD ROUND SCORES
Gauteng North 10.5 vs Free State 1.5
KwaZulu-Natal 7 vs North West 5
Limpopo 4 vs Mpumalanga 8
THIRD ROUND LOG
(Pos-Union-Played-Won-Drawn-Lost-Points-Matches won)
1 Gauteng North (3, 3, 0, 0, 6, 29.5)
2 KwaZulu-Natal (3, 3, 0, 0, 6, 26.5)
3 North West (3, 2, 0, 1, 4, 18.5)
4 Mpumalanga (3, 1, 0, 2, 2, 17.0)
5 Free State (3, 0, 0, 3, 0, 10.0)
6 Limpopo (3, 0, 0, 3, 0, 6.5)
PHOTO – Gauteng North’s Andrew van der Knaap; credit Ernest Blignaut.