Bonnar Cup win keeps finals hopes alive for team

Report by Wayne Humphries
(Team Manager)

Another match that we expected to win, but we had to overcome bitterly cold weather conditions and some spirited play from our less fancied opponents to eventually secure the 5 to 2 victory.

After nine holes it was a very tight match – we were up in three games, down in three (all two down) and square in the other game. Michael Ratajewski at number seven was six up after nine and went on to win 7/5.  Sam Hynes at number two was five up after nine and maintained that to win 5/4. These two wins gave us the early advantage – but we still needed to win another two games to get the victory.  Fortunately, Henry Duregon, at number five, (square after nine) got the edge on his opponent to win 3/1 – Henry had a real Jekyll and Hyde round – he mixed four birdies with four double bogeys. James (Boom) Brown was two down after nine, still two down after eleven, but then won three holes to be one up playing 17 (the par 3, 8th hole) – here Boom holed a nice birdie putt from ten feet to shake hands and win his game 2/1. Matty Mudford at number four was also two down after nine and struggled to make any inroads – he was still two down with three to play but “fired up” to win the last three holes – the only time he was in front for the entire match was when he shook hands on the 18th green!

In the meantime Will Starkey, at number three, was struggling with the Blackwood greens – he was two down after nine after several three-putt greens and could not make a putt on the back nine (certainly not like Will!) to still be two down after eleven, still two down after 14 and eventually losing 2/1.

Our number one, Lee Cole, was frustrated with his game – he capitalized on his knowledge of the Blackwood greens (he works there as a greenkeeper) early on to take a one up advantage after nine, but some loose shots on the tight Blackwood layout cost him dearly on the back nine and he lost his first game for the season 2/1.   

Our finals aspirations are now in our own hands – we are now in outright second spot.  A win this week against Blackwood at Grange on Sunday from 12.10pm will secure us a finals match against Grange the following week at Mt. Osmond.      

A particular thanks to all caddies this week in the freezing conditions for their support to the players.

So the challenge continues!…………..a win this week will be just reward for all the players and coaching staff who have put in such a committed effort  – a finals appearance with a real shot at winning the Bonnar Cup – let’s keep the momentum going.

Results

Glenelg (5) defeated North Adelaide (2)

(1) Lee Colde lost to S. Welsh 2/1
(2) Sam Hynes def. J. Filmalter 5/4
(3) Will Starkey lost to C. Kong 2/1
(4) Mat Mudford def. C. Sequeira 1 up
(5) Henry Duregon def. W. Chan 3/1
(6) James Brown def. J. Kim 2/1
(7) Michael Ratajewksi def. J. Clarbull 7/5

Table

To view full results from Bonnar Cup round 6, click here.