Another setback for Bonnar Cup team

_DB_4954 Report by Wayne Humphries (Team Manager)

In what was a mini final for the Bonnar Cup team, it was a disappointing result to lose a closely fought contest against a competitive Tea Tree Gully side with 5 matches decided on the 18th hole.

After 7 holes, the contest was all square with Glenelg leading in 3 games, behind in 3 games and one game all square. However as the contest progressed the Tea Tree Gully side took a slight edge and we were needing to turn it around. That is when you need a bit of luck and need to take advantage of any opportunities that are presented. Whilst we grabbed some of those opportunities we didn’t grab them all and fell agonisingly short at the conclusion of play.

Jack Buchanan playing at No. 7 was all square after 7, but went 2 down after 11. Young Jack kept fighting hard and won the 12th (the 3rd hole), but lost the 15th (the 6th hole) to be back to 2 down with 3 to play. A nice birdie on the next hole got him back to one down with 2 to play. A fortunate half on the 17th had him going down the 18th one down – he looked set to win the hole but an uncharacteristic chip and 3 putt saw him half the hole and lose his match 1 down – I am sure Jack will learn plenty from that experience and will assist his development as a golfer representing Glenelg.

Jack Tanner at No. 6 had an absorbing battle all day – he struggled early to be 2 down after 3 holes, but regained his composure to go 1 up after 11, only to lose 2 of his next 4 holes to be 1 down after 15. Still 1 down playing the 17th (the 8th hole) he holed a 25 footer to make his match all square playing the last – Jack played 2 great shots down the last hole and had 2 putts from 18 feet to win his match but also uncharacteristically 3 putted to half the hole and leave his match all square. Another learning experience for Jack.

James Bridgen at No. 5 struggled all day to match his opponent and could not impact on the scoreboard. No-one was more disappointed than James with his resultant 7 and 6 loss.

Andy Humphries at No. 4 struggled to match some brilliant golf from his opponent early to be 2 down after 5, still 2 down after 9 and then 3 down after 11 – but Andy dug deep and won 3 holes in a row to square his match after 14 – however a loss on the 15th (the 6th hole) stemmed his momentum and he was still that one down playing the 18th. A nice approach shot on the 18th (the 9th hole) gave him a chance from 5 metres to square his match but his putt slipped by the hole to leave him 1 down.

Sam Raschella at No. 3 lost his first match for the season – things looked okay early as Sam went 2 up after 6 holes with both boys playing some erratic golf. However the Tea Tree Gully fellow steadied somewhat and won 5 of the next 10 holes to win the match 3 and 2.

Henry Duregon at No. 2 continued his unbeaten record this season. He got out to a nice 3 up lead after 7 holes but had to withstand a spirited fightback from his opponent to be only one up playing the last. A half on the last secured a 1up victory.

At No. 1 Brodie Whitbread struggled a little early with the speed of the greens going 2 down after just 3 holes. However Brodie settled somewhat and won 3 of the next 4 holes to be 1 up after 7 – he stretched that out to a 2 up lead after 10, but he also had to withstand a spirited fightback from his opponent to also be playing the last one up. Brodie calmly holed his 5 foot putt for par to halve the hole and secure a 1 up win.

So a disappointing result against a team which were level with us on the table. They now go one win ahead of us and Kooyonga have snuck half a game in front of us as well and we trail Grange by 1 and a half games – so with only 2 games left it seems unlikely we will make the Final – unfortunately our fate rests in other clubs causing some upsets – not mathematically impossible, but unlikely!!

Thank you again to all the caddies and parents who came out to support the boys.

Next Sunday we play against The Vines at Flagstaff Hill from 11.15am.