Bonnar Cup side grab win despite shaky start

All’s well that ends well!

The day did not start well! – due to varying circumstances, we had to call upon John Noble to forgo his caddie duties and get his clubs out and play – only problem, he didn’t have his clubs with him!!

So, with borrowed clubs and limited preparation, John gave it his best shot. After losing the first two holes for carrying 15 clubs, he battled valiantly to be still 2 down after eight holes but lost two more holes to go 4 down after 13 holes. Then John birdied three of the next four holes to get to the 18th tee just one down.  John had a steady par 5 on the last hole (the 9th). His opponent had a terrible lie in the greenside bunker playing his third and left his ball in the bunker – it now seemed likely John would have a fairytale squared match, but his opponent played a nice 4th shot from the bunker to five feet and duly holed the putt to win the match and deny John the half.  Thanks John for a great effort against the odds.

Throughout the day the contest was very tight. After nine holes we held the slightest advantage – ahead in three games, behind in two, with two games all square.

James Bridgen at number six played very steady golf throughout the day – it was a tight match with James one up for most of the day.  His opponent holed a couple of nice putts late in the day to keep the match alive but a steady par on the last hole by James maintained his one up advantage and victory. Congratulations James on your first win (from only 3 games) this year – a vital win for the team.

Ben Magi at five also recorded a vital win. His opponent had been unbeaten in Bonnar Cup this year and Ben was playing Tea Tree Gully for the first time. His “walking” of the course pre-game gave him a good feel for the course and prepared him for his match.  Ben hit the ball really well and played some masterful shots – with a bit more luck on the greens he could have had a bigger lead but was one or two up for most of the day.  His opponent also played well to stay in the match, with Ben winning the last hole for a 2 up victory.

Braeden Kelly at number four tried hard against an opponent who had a day out on the greens (eight 1-putt greens on the first nine holes!) – for Braeden to be seven down – just one of those days where nothing seemed to go right!  Braeden eventually losing his match 7/5.  I am confident Braeden will have learnt one or two key things from his more experienced opponent and will bounce back strongly.

At number three, Will Starkey followed up a disastrous triple bogey first hole with successive birdies on the second and third holes to go one up. He then won four of the next six holes to turn 5 up. A spirited fightback from his opponent saw his lead reduced to only 2 up after 14 holes but Will steadied to record a 3/2 win. A terrific result against a very accomplished and experienced opponent.

James McDonald, at number two, had a titanic battle all day.  He was square or 1 down through the first nine holes, turning all square. His opponent then won three holes in a row for James to go 3 down after 12 holes. James fought back strongly to be square playing the last but an unplayable lie and tree trouble resulted in James losing the hole and his match one down. 

Sam Raschella continued his fine form at number one – he started strongly to be 3 up after four holes and turned 4 up. He maintained the pressure to record a convincing 6/5 victory. Well done Sam.

That gave us the 4/3 victory we needed – so all was well again.  It was a good win against a very strong Blackwood team and has consolidated our second position. With just two matches to be played, we are in a strong position to achieve our first goal of contesting the final in three weeks time. We realise there is still a lot of golf to be played and we must keep the momentum happening.

Next Sunday we play Royal Adelaide at Blackwood from the 10th tee at 12.10pm. A strong win next week is imperative to keep that momentum leading up to the final.

Round 5 Results

Bonnar Cup Table after round 5

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