9 April 2019 – Defending champions Central Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal made light work of their opening gambit in the 2019 South Africa Senior A-Division Inter-Provincial, while Super Seniors Central Gauteng and Southern Cape also flexed their muscles on day one at Wingate Park Country Club.
SENIORS
Central Gauteng mowed down Border 10.5 – 1.5 but had to dig a little deeper to route the Daisies in Tuesday’s opening round.
The Lions were 1.5 – 2.5 down after the morning session, but Greg Gleeson steadied when he defeated Wingate Park course superintendent Pieter Cooper 5 & 4 in his own backyard. Reigning SA Senior Stroke Play champion Craig Kamps (3&2), Jock Wellington (2&1) and Steve Williams (1-up) boosted the team’s tally to 5.5 points.
Brian Chernotsky halved against William Skinner and Schalk Naude claimed another half point against Johan du Toit to guarantee a 6.5 – 5.5 result for Central Gauteng.
KwaZulu-Natal beat Eastern Province and North West to bank 4 valuable points.
The coastal side took a 2.5 – 1.5 lead into the singles against Eastern Province and runaway victories from Murray Gilson (6&5), Mike Matthews (6&4), Basil Naidoo (6&4) and Guy O’Connor (4&2) put KwaZulu-Natal in the driver’s seat.
Kevin Curren and Morgan Phillips halved their games to secure a 7.5 – 3.5 win for the side.
It was more of the same against North West, with KwaZulu-Natal breaking the 2-all tie after the foursomes with six wins to triumph 8 – 4.
Gauteng North rallied to beat Border 10 – 2 to finish third in the log, behind leaders Central Gauteng and second placed KwaZulu-Natal, who trail the Lions by 1.5 game points.
Eastern Province bounced back against North West to win 8 – 4 and Western Province routed Southern Cape 7.5 – 4.5.
SUPER SENIORS
Defending champions Southern Cape got their 2019 campaign off the ground with a resounding victory over Boland.
The two sides squared the foursomes, but Bertus Smit and Anton Nel moved the Garden Route side into attack with 4&2 wins each. Solly Rautenbach won his game 3&1 and Neil Abrahamse halved against Frans Bruwer to seal a 4.5 – 1.5 result.
Western Province beat Gauteng North 4 – 2, while Central Gauteng made a strong case for the title bid this year with a 4.5 – 1.5 win in their opening match against KwaZulu-Natal.
SENIORS A-DIVISION ROUND 1
Central Gauteng 6.5 vs Gauteng North 5.5
Central Gauteng 10.5 vs Border 1.5
Gauteng North 10 vs Border 2
KwaZulu-Natal 7.5 vs Eastern Province 4.5
Eastern Province 8 vs North West 4
KwaZulu-Natal 8 vs North West 4
Western Province 7.5 vs Southern Cape 4.5
SUPER SENIORS A-DIVISION ROUND 1
Southern Cape SS 4.5 vs Boland SS 1.5
Gauteng North SS 2 vs Western Province SS 4
Central Gauteng SS 4.5 vs KwaZulu-Natal SS 1.5
SENIORS A DIVISION LOG
(Position-Union-Played-Win-Draw-Loss-Points-Games)
1 Central Gauteng (2, 2, 0, 0, 4, 17)
2 KwaZulu-Natal (2, 2, 0, 0, 4, 15.5)
3 Gauteng North (2, 1, 0, 1, 2, 15.5)
4 Eastern Province (2, 1, 0, 1, 2, 12.5)
5 Western Province (1, 1, 0, 0, 2, 7.5)
6 North West (2, 0, 0, 2, 0, 8)
7 Southern Cape (1, 0, 0, 1, 0, 4.5)
8 Border (2, 0, 0, 2, 0, 3.5)
SUPER SENIORS A DIVISION LOG
(Position-Union-Played-Win-Draw-Loss-Points-Games)
1 Southern Cape SS (1, 1, 0, 0, 2, 4.5)
1 Central Gauteng SS (1, 1, 0, 0, 2, 4.5)
3 Western Prov SS (1, 1, 0, 0, 2, 4)
4 Gauteng North SS (1, 0, 0, 1, 0, 2)
5 KwaZulu Natal SS (1, 0, 0, 1, 0, 1.5)
5 Boland SS (1, 0, 0, 1, 0, 1.5)
Written and released by Lali Stander on behalf of GolfRSA.