Bonnar boys strengthen grip on finals berth

Report by Wayne Humphries (Team Manager)

Glenelg’s Bonnar Cup boys performed powerfully to overwhelm Kooyonga 7 to nil in what was a virtual semi-final contest.

Before this match, we were equal second with Kooyonga, so a win was crucial to maintain our push to make the final – and the Glenelg boys took up the challenge and applied themselves exceptionally well to the testing conditions presented by the North Adelaide golf course.

From early on, Glenelg’s boys took the advantage – after nine holes we were well ahead in five matches, square in one and just one down in the other.

Liam Kennewell at No.7 won his first three holes and increased his lead to 4 up after nine and then maintained that margin to win his match 4/3. Congratulations Liam on your first men’s pennant victory for the club following two halved matches earlier in the season – I am sure this will be the first of many wins from you for the Club.

James Bridgen at No. 6 recovered from 1 down after three holes to be 3 up after nine. James continued to play solid golf and went on to win 3/2.

Jackson Kalz at No.5 had an absorbing duel all day – he was either 1 up or square for much of the day. All square playing the last he got the job done on 18 to win his match 1 up.

Mark McDonald at No.4 was in red hot form – he was two under the card on the front nine to be 6 up and then birdied the 12th to close his match out 8/6 – really well played Mark.

Ben Layton at No.3 got off to a positive start to be 3 up after nine – his opponent was striking the ball really well and hitting it prodigious distances but Ben was more consistent. Ben maintained his 3 up lead through 14 but his opponent fought back with a birdie at 15 and won 17 for Ben to take a 1 up lead playing 18 – both players played great shots on to the green but Ben left his first putt some six feet short but calmly slotted the putt to win a great match 1 up.

Henry Duregon at No. 2 had a competitive match all day – He was 2 down after six but kept the pressure on his opponent to take a 1 up lead after 12 holes and maintained that advantage over the closing holes to win 1up.

Luke Bashford at No.1 was also in red hot form. He was in complete control of his game to be 5 up after nine  and was under the card when he won his match 5/4.

A special thank you to the caddies – Josh Hodgson, Jack Hynes, Paul Grosvenor and Kayla Fergusson. Their support to the players was invaluable and greatly appreciated.

The 7-0l scoreline should not be underestimated. The Kooyonga team is a very strong team and they had high expectations of winning this contest. It was great to watch the Glenelg boys play so well with solid shots and holing nice putts at crucial times – well done guys. The final scoreline also does not truly reflect the tightness of the contest – whilst we had four “comfortable” wins, the other three matches were very close, being decided on the final hole.

We are certainly on track in our pursuit of a final’s berth. We play Royal Adelaide at Grange next Sunday 28th June from 12.10pm. With only two more matches to be played, a win next week would all but seal our spot against Grange in the final.

So, there is still some work to be done – a lot of pressure on the selectors – important to maintain the pressure and focus to win next week.

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