KZN golfers fall short at South African Interprovincial, settle for 3rd place
On paper, the KZN team looked very strong, but on the greens they struggled in comparison to the upcountry teams.
IT wasn’t the result the KwaZulu-Natal golf team was looking for but at the end of a hard-fought South African Interprovincial tournament they had to settle for third place.
Considering they were back up from the B division it doesn’t seem so bad, but when you see the quality of the players in the side, it was disappointing to lose three games of the five at Bryanston Country Club.
That they all came down to the last match – such was their closeness – won’t come as much consolation to the players.
“The boys gave it 100 percent and sometimes it came down to not quite being able to hit the required shot at the time,” said Greg McKay.
For the record, KZN lost to Southern Cape 6,5-5,5; beat Ekurhuleni 9,5-2,5; beat Western Province 9-3; lost to Central Gauteng 6,5-5,5; and lost to Gauteng North 7-5.
In the foursomes, the pairings were as follows: Gavin Sole and Jason Broomhead, Greg McKay and Siyanda Mwandla, Clayton Mansfield and Matt Saulez, Derek Scullard and Malcolm Mitchell.
Singles were (in reverse) Sole, Broomhead, McKay, Mwandla, Scullard, Mansfield, Saulez, Mitchell.
Stats don’t always reveal the full picture, but here they are anyway.
(Half a point for a foursomes win, quarter point for a halved game; one point for a singles win, half a point for a singles halved game.)
Sole 3,5; Broomhead 2,5; McKay 3,75; Mwandla 3,75; Scullard 4; Mansfield 4,75; Saulez 5,75; Mitchell 6.
Perhaps the biggest anomaly in the stats is that Mansfield and Saulez only won one foursomes game together and halved another, yet won 9 out of 10 singles games.
That’s golf.
Mitchell and Scullard were unbeaten in foursomes, winning three and halving two.
Team spirit was good, with “Scully”, as always keeping the team in stitches, both on and off the course.
The biggest difference between winning and losing was the putting especially against the host union Central Gauteng in such a vital game.
“The greens were unbelievable,” said captain Gavin Sole. “You could hit a great shot and then have an impossible putt,” he said.
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Next year the tournament will be in George, at Fancourt’s Montague course.
If not too many players turn pro, or go overseas, then it is surely a team good enough to win an away IPT.
It’s something of a golden era for KZN golf at the moment, with the likes of Mitchell and Saulez playing for South Africa this year, Luke Mayo too in the juniors, and others knocking on the door.
The players thanked manager Ivan Curlewis for his contribution.
“As a past player he knows what we’re going through when we are trying to win and just can’t quite get it done,” said Scullard.
He echoed Sole’s thoughts on the greens. “I reckon these were the toughest greens I have ever played on, and you know I’ve played some golf.”
* Looking ahead, the mid-amateur team is now looking forward to the SA Interprov at Oubaai.
Maybe they’ll hole a few more putts and bring back the trophy.
The team is Lyall McNeill (c), David Brown, Dale Burraston, Brad Davison, Graham Dickinson, Keith Forde, Murray Gilson, Derek Scullard.
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