On 8th July 2013

Bonnar Cup boys go down in finals thriller against The Grange

Report by Wayne Humphries
(Team Manager)

We headed to Mt. Osmond full of anticipation – to be greeted by thick fog, drizzling rain and a cold 9 degrees!

This is the Final – obviously a tough game – playing The Grange – they were undefeated through the season – two of their players were undefeated and four of their players had only lost one game – so a tough assignment! But the Glenelg boys were up for the challenge.

After a 30 minute tee off delay due to the fog, our players adapted to the early conditions much better than their Grange opponents – after three holes we held a 5.5-1.5 advantage and after eight holes still maintained the advantage being ahead in four games, square in two and behind in one – certainly early indications were encouraging and The Grange hierarchy were nervous and sensing a real challenge from the Glenelg boys.

Unfortunately, the B2 Final was being played in front of our match and they were incredibly slow – it was not unusual for two or three of our games to be on the same tee just waiting for play to clear. This definitely slowed momentum for our boys and gave the Grange boys time to re-focus. As the sun came out for a while, the match tightened – after 14 holes, it was 3.5 games all – anybody’s match!

Then some more rain fell and some doubt whether the match would finish before darkness!

Grange now grabbed the initiative:

At No. 3, Luke Bashford playing Andre Na had some putting woes early and then struggled to get back in to the game with Andre playing really well resulting in a 7/6 loss for Luke.

Henry Duregon at No. 5 playing Colin Coleman lost five holes in a row to go from two up after eight to be three down after 14 (succumbing to birdies and pars) to eventually lose 3/2.

Michael Ratajewski at No.7 playing Pete Davis got off to a flying start being three up after three, but Pete Davis played steady golf and got the game back to all square after eight and still all square after 14. A couple of missed four footers by Rat on the tricky greens proved costly as he went down 2/1.

Grange now had 3 wins in the bag – we had to win all four remaining games still going – it looked quite a daunting task – however:

Lee Cole at No. 4 playing Sam Masters continued his sensational season. One up after eight, Lee played consistent golf on the back nine to win several holes in a row and finished with a 5/3 victory – Hooray, one win on the board for Glenelg!

Will Starkey at No. 5 playing the undefeated Mark Demasi seemed well in control being four up after 13 – but to Mark’s credit he won the next four holes to take the game down 18 all square. In the fading light both boys hit the par five, 18th green in two and both two putted to halve the hole in birdies – now down 19 in a must win game for Glenelg, Will showed great character and resolve to nail his approach shot to six feet and calmly hole the birdie putt to win his game and keep us alive – now two wins on the board for Glenelg.

While all this was going on, Sam Hynes at No. 2, playing Cory Baker, was also going down 18 all square – earlier Sam had got out to a three up lead after six, but big hitting Cory got back to square after 13 with an absorbing struggle over the last six holes to still be square after 17. Cory’s tee shot on 18 hits a tree just 60 metres from the tee and rebounds back towards the tee. Sam hits a beauty down the middle, Cory misses his longish putt for par and after playing a loose second shot Sam recovers and is left with a six footer to salvage his par and to win his game – like he has done all season Sam holed the pressure putt to maintain his unbeaten record. Now it is game on again – it is three games all.

In semi darkness David Hiern at No. 1 is playing the 17th hole against unbeaten Scott Webb. Hierny was either square or one down all day – a very tight game and is one down playing the 17th. Scott putts first up the hill from 30 feet but leaves it some eight feet short of the hole. David has a 20 foot left to right downhill slider and hits a beautiful putt that looks a real chance – unfortunately it hits the top lip and picks up speed to finish four feet past the hole. In the semi darkness, Scott hits a good putt that just catches the left lip and drops in – David hits a good putt but on the slippery green his putt takes a thick lip and stays out. Scott’s2/1 win gives Grange the four wins required to win the match and the Bonnar Cup.

If per chance this game had gone down 18, it would have been played in complete darkness! – An interesting predicament the Golf SA officials present avoided!

It was a great effort by the Glenelg boys to make the Final and to go so close to winning the Bonnar Cup – I thank the entire squad for their commitment to the task and the manner in which they played the game – they certainly did Glenelg Golf Club proud. We now look forward to going that one step better next year.

I would also like to thank all the caddies for their efforts, the Simpson Cup players and other club members and officials who came out to support the players in this crucial match.

Final Result

Glenelg (3) lost to The Grange (4)

(1) David Hiern lost to Scott Webb 2/1
(2) Sam Hynes def. Cory Baker 1up
(3) Luke Bashford lost to Andre Na 7/6
(4) Lee Cole def. Sam Masters 5/3
(5) Will Starkey def. Mark Demasi at 19th
(6) Henry Duregon lost to Colin Coleman 3/2
(7) Michael Ratajewski lost to Pete Davis 2/1

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