JOHANNESBURG, 13 April 2016 – While Gauteng North went down to Central Gauteng on day two of the 2016 INDWE SA Senior Amateur Inter-Provincial, the Western Province senior and super senior teams took early control with a commanding performance in the prestigious national team championship at the Wanderers Golf Club.
The defending champions top the log in both sections of the A-Division after going unbeaten on Wednesday. Gunning for their fifth victory in six years, the senior team mowed downed both Southern Cape and Eastern Province 8.5 – 3.5, while the super senior side gave Ekurhuleni a 5 -1 hiding to lay a solid foundation in their sixth consecutive title bid.
Seniors
Western Province tied Southern Cape 2-all in the foursomes, and carried a 3.5 lead over Eastern Province into the singles.
Hugo Calitz, Andrew Cleopas, Tony Bailey, Herman September, Brian Mamphies and Francois le Roux put Province in the driver’s seat, but Bertus Smit and Fanus Pauw from Southern Cape prevented a clean sweep. Smit defeated Craig Polton 4 & 3, while Pauw halved against Japie Koopman.
Having lost three games in the foursomes, Mkhuseli Mavuso stemmed the bleeding for Eastern Province when he defeated Cleopas 4 & 2. Zolile Nqana added another point to their tally when he knocked out Poulton 1-up and Mzuyanda Zingela squared against Mampies for another half point, but all the other games went the way of the defending champions.
Western Province moved to the top of the grid with eight points, and they lead by two from Ekurhuleni and Central Gauteng.
Ekurhuleni beat KwaZulu-Natal 7 – 5 and thumped North West 10 – 2 and will carry a 3.5 advantage in games points over the host union into the third round.
In the remaining matches, Central Gauteng defeated Gauteng North 8 – 4, KwaZulu-Natal managed to get the edge on North West, too, and won their match 9 – 3, while the match between Southern Cape and Eastern Province ended in a 6-all draw.
Super Seniors
Anton Bezuidenhout and Tim Hewan defeated Errol Civin and William Berry 6 – 4 in the foursomes to set the tone of the Western Province super senior team.
Ivan Palframan and Mark Hair followed suit to win 4 & 3, and Bezuidenhout, Hewan and Palframan extended their lead to 5 – 0 in the singles, but Dave Jessup rallied to take the final game all the way to the 18th where he beat Hair 1-up to stave off a clean sweep.
In the remaining matches, Gauteng North and Central Gauteng drew 3-all and Southern Cape defeated KwaZulu-Natal 4 – 2.
Western Province lead the log with four points and have a two point edge on Ekurhuleni, Southern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal.
A-DIVISION RESULTS AND LOG
SECOND ROUND RESULTS – Seniors
Western Province 8.5 – Southern Cape 3.5
Western Province 8.5 – Eastern Province 3.5
Southern Cape 6 – Eastern Province 6
Ekurhuleni 7 – KwaZulu-Natal 5
Ekurhuleni 10 – North West 2
KwaZulu-Natal 9 – North West 3
Central Gauteng 8 – Gauteng North 4
SECOND ROUND LOG – Seniors
1 Western Province (8 points; 31.5 games points)
2 Ekurhuleni (6 points; 27.5 games points)
3 Central Gauteng (6 points; 24 games points)
4 Southern Cape (3 points; 16 games points)
5 KwaZulu-Natal (2 points; 19.5 games points)
6 Eastern Province (1 points; 19 games points)
7 Gauteng North (1 points; 15.5 games points)
8 North West (1 points; 15 games points)
SECOND ROUND RESULTS – Super Seniors
Gauteng North 3 – Central Gauteng 3
Western Province 5 – Ekurhuleni 1
KwaZulu-Natal 2 – Southern Cape 4
SECOND ROUND LOG – Super Seniors
1 Western Province (4 points; 9.5 games points)
2 Ekurhuleni (2 points; 6.5 games points)
3 Southern Cape (2 points; 5.5 games points)
4 KwaZulu-Natal (2 points; 5.5 games points)
5 Central Gauteng (1 points; 5.5 games points)
6 Gauteng North (1 points; 3.5 games points)
PHOTO – Gauteng North’s Rinus van Niekerk; credit Ernest Blignault.
Written and released by Lali Stander on behalf of the South African Golf Association.