The Grange too strong for Simpson Cup boys

Report by Geoff Attenborough
(Team Manager)

Glenelg’s Simpson Cup team ventured to The Grange Golf Club’s East Course on Sunday for a very tough assignment against a strong home side, unfortunately coming up short losing 4.5 matches to 2.5.

Our preparation had an early set back with team captain, Campbell Rawson, falling ill on Saturday afternoon and unable to play. This gave Sam Raschella his opportunity at top level pennant golf and he aquitted himself very well.

The result probably puts Glenelg out of contention for a finals berth, but with three matches to go, our team has to go out with the attitude of winning every single contest to make sure we give ourselves a chance if other teams above us have a couple of unforseen losses. There is also a factor of having pride in our performance and not just casually play out the season.

Our day started with Henry Duregon at number seven, getting of to a poor start being 2 down after three holes and seeming to not quite be on his game. Henry held his ground to be 2 down after nine holes but could not keep his game in order to finally lose 5/4. Henry will be disappointed with this result and will hopefully bounce back next week at Kooyonga.

Leigh Attenborough again showed his experience standing out with a solid 2 up win. His matchplay knowledge and unflustered attitude gets the job done, week in, week out, and coupled with his mental strength, all young players at Glenelg can learn a lot from a wise head.

David Hiern at five did not play as well as he would like but got the job done, winning 1 up. With our head professional, Shane Robinson, caddying, David worked his way around the course to give us an important win.

Josh Hayes playing in fourth position had tough day being four holes down after nine, however Josh, to his credit, kept fighting to get back to 2 down after 14 holes but could not keep the momentum going eventually losing 3/2.

Connor Chant at three had a day similar to Josh, being 4 down at the turn, then getting back to 2 down with three to play and eventually losing 3/1. Connor wont be happy with this result and will be keen to bounce back next week.

Matt Overall at two had a tough battle with his match fluctuating all day being 1 or 2 up then back to square or 1 down. With Matt 1 down standing on the18th tee, he found a way to get a halved match with an outstanding pitch shot to a foot to setup a birdie and win the hole and the half.

Playing at number one and never having played Simpson Cup before, Sam Raschella really did an outstanding job playing the current State Amateur champion Jack Williams on his home course. Sam lost 4/2 and only fell away on the back nine where probably the lack of experience caught up with him. Sam is a player on the up at Glenelg and will only get better with experience and his positive attitude.

Even though we lost, I am proud of the team as, playing Grange on their home course and having four current state players in their team, is no easy task and the guys gave their all and that is all we can ask.  With three matches to finish the season, the team must win and win well to give us momentum going forward.

Round 4 Results

Simpson Cup Table after 4 rounds

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