Thursday school clinches first phase win of Twyder Cup

When the first official Ryder Cup first took place at Worcester Golf Club in the American State of Massachusetts in 1927, no one then would have guessed the principles it was based on would be found building another tournament in Newcastle.

Similar to the Europeans facing off against the Americans in the modern day Ryder Cup, in Newcastle two schools of golfers face off against each other for the third annual Twyder Cup.

The Twyder Cup began as a friendly challenge between two sets of players, namely the Wednesday and Thursday golfing schools of Newcastle Golf Club.

Borowwing on the Ryder Cup’s basis, the Tyder Cup is played out over three weeks, with three forms of golf being the defining factor in the scoring of the cup.

Last week Wednesday, the two schools met once more on the golf course as the two groups teed off in the first Twyder Cup challenge: the foursomes.

Through excellent play, the Thursday school managed an impressive win on the first day with the school claiming victory by one point.

The Thursday school pair, Trevor Smit and Reay Shaw, beat their opponents, Lionel Phillips and Pierre Uys with 2/1 win, while Thursday School pair, George Meyer and Allan Amos succumbed to a 3/2 defeat to Johan Jonker and Louis de Plessis.

Dons de Kock and Dup Greyling managed to secure the second victory for the Thursday school, over Greg Schlebusch and Neil Moller, putting their team back up on one point advantage.

Brian Swart and John McGregor kept their team’s lead steady, by playing out a draw against opponents Piet Vermaas and Gary Williams.

Thus the Thursday School is ready to take on Thursday’s Betterball at Kilbarchan Golf Club, confident it will retain the Twyder Cup, just as it has since the cup’s inception.

Third time lucky possibly for the Wednesday School? After all, they seem determined to fight back and win the Twyder Cup.

Next week Wednesday, November 12 will be the final leg in the Twyder Cup as golfers face off against each other in the singles division of the tournament.