Simpson Cup boys go down in tough Grange encounter

Report by Geoff Attenborough
(Team Manager)

With a huge opportunity to put us in a strong position to gain a place in the pennant final the Grange team denied us that chance with a strong win defeating us 6 matches to 1 at the Grange West course on Sunday.  With our team being without regular players Campbell Rawson and Matt McGowan, David Hiern an experienced pennant player, and young 16 year old Will Starkey, were promoted to take their place.

Will, playing his first Simpson Cup match at number seven, had a day he would probably like to forget. Playing an experienced Grange pennant player in his first match, Will found the going really tough being six holes down after seven. After having a few words of encouragement to him to play the match right out and show some pride, he kept the score from blowing right out, eventually losing 6/5. I am sure Will has found it is a huge step up from B Pennant and will learn much from the experience.

Josh Hayes, our generally reliable number six, gave up a normally winning advantage with a couple of uncharacteristic three putts late in his match to give his opponent a real sniff at a win, eventually losing on the 18th hole to a birdie. Josh, with his competitive nature, would be seething at this loss. It just goes to show that at this level of golf, the match is never over and for this young player, it is a little wake up call after easy wins in the early matches of the season.

Anthony Olsen at number five also had a tough battle with his match fluctuating by being one up, then square, then one down. This trend continued throughout with his Grange opponent finally prevailing to win two up. Again local knowledge on the greens probably made the difference.

Matt Overall at number four lost one down, but had every chance to win his match. A couple of errant shots and poor putts late in his match, plus a couple of unlucky breaks probably cost Matt a win. Again coming to terms with playing on an unfamiliar course goes a long way to a positive result.

David Hiern, coming into the team from Bonnar Cup, had the pressure put on him playing at number three.  He did not let us down with a fighting performance finally winning one up.  David’s ball striking from tee to green was exceptional all day and again it was only local knowledge on the greens that probably stopped Dave winning far more comfortably. Well done David.

Andrew Gryzbowski, like Will Starkey, had a match he would rather forget. Andrew never got into the match at any stage losing 7/6 and gave his own honest assessment of the way he played after he finished which I won’t print. 

Promoted to number one in Campbell Rawson’s absence, Lachlan Booth had a very tough encounter with current Australian Squad member, Chris Brown, on his home course. Lachlan lost his match 6/4 but again being a young player on the up will be far better for the experience and should learn a lot about the game from playing against arguably the state’s best amateur player.

Our Simpson Cup season is not over by any means with two matches to go. With games against a depleted Tea Tree Gully and Highercombe in the next two weeks before the final, our destiny is in our own hands, so I hope the team responds positively and does not waste the chance to play in the final if other results fall our way.

Again, it is great to see some supporters out giving encouragement to the team, but it would be fantastic to see a lot more out, as you can see some of the best amateur golfers in SA play the game as well as support GLENELG.

Results

Glenelg (1) lost to The Grange (6)

(1) Lachlan Booth lost to Chris Brown 6/4
(2) Andrew Grzybowski lost to Jack Williams 7/6
(3) David Hiern def. Rudi DuPlooy 1 up
(4) Matt Overall lost to Matt Lisk 1 down
(5) Anthony Olsen lost to Nick Cheary 1 down
(6) Josh Hayes lost to Scott Webb 1 down
(7) Will Starkey lost Justin Crowder 6/5

Simpson Cup Table

To view full results from Simpson Cup round 5, click here

Gallery

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