Glenelg McMillian Shield team off to strong start

McMillan Shield – Round 2
Thaxted Park Golf Club
Glenelg vs Grange Green

Report by Brenton Kalz – Junior Manager

After round one has was cancelled due to extreme heat, Glenelg have started off their McMillan Shield campaign this week with an exciting draw against Grange Green.

The teams were evenly matched with all but one match-up within 1 handicap of each other.  Not surprisingly, the match came down to the final holes.

Jackson Kalz led GGC off against Kim Young playing off of 6 and 7 handicaps respectively.  Both players birdied the opening hole albeit a win to Grange on handicap.  Kim Young could do no wrong finishing -1 under the card for the first 9 holes and a dominating 6 up with six to go. To Jackson’s credit, he fought all the way eventually going down 3/2  

Jack Buchanan tussle with Harrison Burner was epic. With the momentum swung one way then the next, it looked like Jack would take out the match on the 17th but his putt slid agonisingly past the hole.  With Harrison giving Jack the only stroke of the day on the last hole, the thoughts of victory for Glenelg entered my head but to Harrison’s credit, he was able to par the difficult 18th which was good enough to square the match.

Both Playing off of 10, Aaron Buchanan dominated the opening 9 holes to surge 5 up against Jamie Smith which include a chip in birdie on the 3^rd hole. Then as often does in match play, momentum swung Grange’s way with Jamie winning the next 6 holes.  But Aaron refused to lie down regaining the lead and finishing off with a spectacular chip in on the 17th to secure a 2/1 victory

Josh’s match play experience was evidenced in his solid 7/5 victory.  Josh playing off of 11 opened up a demanding 5 hole lead through the opening 9 holes, striking the ball well and taking advantage of his opposition errors. A brain fade on the difficult uphill par 3 11th was his only lost hole of the day which was quickly rectified finishing off his opponent by almost driving the Par 4 14th hole to seal the deal.

Jack Tanner, after a nervous three putt on the first to give the hole away settled down nicely opening up a 3 hole lead by the 6th and never looked back.  Jack has worked hard on both his long and short game over the last 3-4 weeks and it showed demonstrating consistency which is the key for match play and never allowed his opposition a look in finishing 6/5 up. 

Lachie Roberts had the highest 33 to 14 handicap differential, playing against one of the four Grange girls which made scoring a little tricky.  Lachie shot out of the box and made the most of his handicap benefit surging to a commanding 5 up lead heading down the 9th.  At this stage, GGC was 5/2 up and looking strong.  Unfortunately a lost ball changed the fortune of the match with Lachie eventually losing 2 down

Jack Wheare played his first McMillan Shield for GGC.  Whilst Jack went down 6/5, he showed a lot of potential and is ultra keen to work on his ball striking and to come back next week with a little more practice and confidence!

It was an exciting match and a great team atmosphere.  The lads represented Glenelg with pride and are already looking forward to playing at home at Glenelg for round 3.

Results

Glenelg drew with Grange Green 3 ½ points each

Jackson Kalz Lost 3/2
Jack Buchanan Sq
Aaron Buchanan Won 2/1
Josh Hodgson Won 7/5
Jack Tanner Won 6/5
Lachie Roberts Lost 2/1
Jack Wheare Lost 6/5