Border on top in crucial promotion battle
BORDER produced an unparalleled performance over five rounds at Pecanwood Golf and Country Club to win the promotion battle in the South African Senior B Inter-Provincial, but Boland denied Border a double celebration in the Super Senior division on Friday.
SENIORS
Border was tied with Mpumalanga on six points, but trailed the log leaders by just half a games point as the two teams headed into battle in a threeway clash with Boland on the final day.
After the morning session wrapped up, Border started the Singles tied 2-all with both teams. However, Mpumalanga lost the Foursomes 1-3 to Boland and that was all the inspiration Border needed as the three teams started the singles.
Denis Jones – a veteran of some 50 inter-provincials – proved once again that golf has no age limit.
The 67-year-old East London golfer routed Franz Lohbauer from Boland 9 and 7, while Ben Jonas mowed down reigning SA Senior Stroke Play champion Ferdi van der Merwe from Boland 5 and 4, and thumped Theo Bleeker from Mpumalanga 8 and 6.
The points added up, as Norman Phillips downed Herman Adendorf from Mpumalanga 5 and 4 and dispatched Archie Steyn from Boland 3 and 2.
“We had to knuckle down to beat Free State in round four, and that victory galvanised the team and motivated their final round performance,” said proud Border manager, Uresh Pillay.
“A team is only as good as the sum of its players, but I have to single out Denis, Norman and Ben today. They gave the rest of the guys the spark to finish the job.”
Duncan Neil defeated Brian Naidoo, while Job Gobizembe at six and number one Jakkie Visagie both halved, to deliver a 7 – 5 result against Mpumalanga.
Francois le Roux from Boland whipped Visagie 5 and 4, but Ant Traub took their tally to six points, with a 2 and 1 win over Jorrie Jordaan 2 and 1. Neill sealed the 6.5-5.5 victory when he drew with 2016 SA Senior Stroke Play champion Andre van Dyk.
“We must thank Boland and Mpumalanga for a fantastic final round tusslee. They were fantastic opponents and the sportsmanship out there was top class,” said Pillay.
Boland trailed Mpumalanga and Border by one point at the start of the final day. After upsetting the log leaders in the Foursomes, Boland took a 3-1 lead into the singles.
Le Roux beat Steve Smit 6 and 4. Archie Steyn won 5 and 4, Pieter van Coller triumphed 3 and 2 and Van der Merwe won by the same margin to take their tally to seven points. Van Dyk downed Brian Naidoo 2-up to seal a second in the standings with an 8-4 victory.
Phillips finished the week on nine points and edged out Smit for the Most Valued Player honour, with half a games point, while Le Roux finished in third on eight points.
SUPER SENIORS
Ivan Palframan, Frans Bruwer, Jackie Snyman and Ben Smit from Boland gave it one last big push against North West and Eastern Province and walked away with the Super Series title at Pecanwood.
Boland lost a game to North West in the Foursomes and Lucas Lebeko routed Bruwer 8 and 7 to extend his team’s lead. However, Palframan mowed down number one Hennie Kruger 7 and 6. Taking their lead from the captain, Snyman won 4 and 3 and Smit won 2 and 1 for a 4-2 victory.
Taking a 2-0 lead into the Singles against Eastern Province, Snyman won 4 and 3, but Bruwer lost by the same margin. Smit and Palframan both halved to seal a 4-2 triumph.
SENIORS B DIVISION RESULTS – Final Round
Border 7 – Mpumalanga 5 Border 6.5 – Boland 5.5 Boland 8 – Mpumalanga 4 Northern Cape 7.5 – Free State 4.5
Free State 10.5 – Limpopo 1.5 Northern Cape 9.5 – Limpopo 2.5 SUPER SENIORS B DIVISION – Final Round
Boland 4 – North West 2 Boland 4 – Eastern Province 2 Eastern Province 3.5 – North West 2.5
Border 5 – Free State 1 Border 5 – Northern Cape 1 Northern Cape 4 – Free State 2
SENIORS B DIVISION FINAL LOG
Pos / Union / Played / Won / Draw / Loss / Points / Games Points)
1 Border (5, 5, 0, 0, 10, 38) 2 Boland (5, 3, 1, 1, 7, 38.5) 3 Mpumalanga (5, 3, 0, 2, 6, 34) 4 Northern Cape (5, 2, 0, 3, 4, 30) 5 Free State (5, 1, 1, 3, 3, 28) 6 Limpopo (5, 0, 0, 5, 0, 11.5)
SUPER SENIORS B DIVISION FINAL LOG
Pos / Union / Played / Won / Draw / Loss / Points / Games Points)
1 Boland (5, 5, 0, 0, 10, 18.5) 2 Border (5, 4, 0, 1, 8, 20.5) 3 Eastern Province (5, 2, 1, 2, 5, 14.5) 4 Northern Cape (5, 1, 1, 3, 3, 12.5) 5 North West (5, 1, 0, 4, 2, 12.5) 6 Free State (5, 1, 0, 4, 2, 11.5)