Palmerston North on top again
It took 60 years for Palmerston North to win their first A grade pennants crown, but it was only a four-year wait for the second.
Palmerston North beat last year’s champions, Feilding, 6-3 in the final at Rangatira on Sunday.
Their last win, in 2018, was the club’s first since the A pennants started in 1960. Manawatū won in 2019 and the competition was cancelled due to Covid-19 in 2020.
In the final, Palmerston North won all three foursomes matches in the morning, which proved crucial as the singles in the afternoon were shared 3-all.
‘‘Our foursomes have been good all year,’’ captain Regan Cording said. ‘‘We prettymuch got it right from the start with all our pairings sussed and they were solid the whole year, which was crucial.
‘‘It’s always hard for anyone to come back from 3-0 down in the morning because you only need two points in the afternoon.’’
He said the result was a lot closer than what it appeared. ‘‘It was 6-3 on paper, but there were a couple of dodgy games at the end there. We’re happy with the win.’’
In the singles, No 1 Bradley Mcsherry won 3 and 2 over Tony Chettleburgh, No 3 Cording beat Mike Aitkins 2 and 1, and No 4 Adam Pratt won 2 and 1 against Tomas Shaw.
Feilding’s wins came through Liam Finlayson, who won 4 and 3 against Junior Tatana, Remy Early, who beat Mike Mcsherry 2 and 1, and Reuben Macnamara, who beat Adam Rapson 1up.
Pratt was a key player for Palmerston North this season and was unbeaten. He was the only player not in the team that won in 2018.
‘‘We’ve been putting little bits of time and effort into making sure our game is up to scratch,’’ Cording said.
‘‘Everyone was pretty confident going into that final, but you never know on the day.’’
It was the first time in years Manawatū weren’t in the final.
In the women’s competition, Manawatū White beat Manawatū Red 3-0.
Manawatū split its pennants team into two this year andwhite were the dominant force this season, going through unbeaten.
In the final , White’s two team members Stephanie Hyatt and Casey Chettleburgh beat Leander Tyacke and Lisa Herbert 1up in the foursomes, then won both the singles matches. No 1 Chettleburgh had a big 7 and 5win over Herbert, while Chettleburgh beat Tyacke 4 and 3 at No 2.