Close, but no cigar for KZN golfers
The 'Big Fish' captained KZN in what was his 16th IPT.
HAD the KwaZulu-Natal team won just half a point more against Eastern Province on day two of the South African IPT at Westlake in the Cape, they would have won the B section and gained promotion.
But it didn’t work out that way, despite it being much closer than the Ryder ‘Klap’ last weekend.
“It was obviously disappointing not to win, but the team played really well for the most part,” said captain Gavin Sole of Southbroom Golf Club.
“The only negative was not beating Eastern Province, but they just had one of those days and full credit to them,” he said.
KZN won most of their games by large margins and this was reflected in the number of game points they won, 51,5 which was 5,5 more than EP.
They had some support, too, with past players Christiaan van der Merwe and Elton James popping in to see how they were faring. Van der Merwe has been in the Cape for a few years now but James has recently relocated from Johannesburg.
Sole finished as B section MVP with 9,5 points out of 12, tied with long-hitting Malcolm Mitchell. The veteran was pleased with his own efforts but said the whole team had contributed.
The lowest number of points scored for the week was seven, so there wasn’t much in it.
There was some drama on the final day, with EP losing their foursomes 3-1, opening the door for KZN.
However, some courageous golf saw them fight back to win.
“There was a huge roar when one of their guys chipped in to win for them… and then it started raining so we had to play the last three holes in the wet,” said Sole, seeing the (slightly) funnier side.
Sole said there had been a good team spirit and felt that the overall effort had been great.
Looking ahead, KZN could lose Mitchell (Howick), Kevin Rundle (Kloof) and Leorin Pillay (Umdoni), who will all most likely be heading off to Q School.
Sole will probably be back for more, as will Derek Scullard (Mount Edgecombe). Whether or not Greg Upneck (Umhlali) will travel from Johannesburg remains to be seen.
Siyanda Mwandla (Mount Edgecombe) will stay on playing amateur golf for a few years, in order to improve his game before having a crack at Q School.
The good news is that Matt Saulez (Durban CC) will still be at school, and there are a bunch of other promising youngsters who will be pushing for a place in the main team.
“IPT is at Glendower next year and Gauteng North got relegated, so that will make for a tough B section,” said Sole.
Central Gauteng won the A section.
