Men’s Pennant 2021 – Round 2: February 28 – versus Bacchus Marsh GC at Cheltenham Golf Club
For round 2 of the pennant season the team headed into Melbourne’s iconic “Sand Belt” to Cheltenham Golf Club. Cheltenham is a public 9-hole course in the shadows of the grand club house of Victoria Golf Club. While not long the course has plenty of tricky holes that require some decisions about club selection and landing areas.
On a beautiful late summer’s day our team reversed last year’s close loss to record its first “W” for the season – 4 to 3 – against Bacchus Marsh.
Andrew Roberts, back in the line-up this round, recorded the first point – with a convincing win, 4 & 3. He was in control from early in the match and despite a fight-back from his opponent he finished his work on the 15th. His next challenge will be taking on Todd Patton in the semis of the Match Play Championship.
Our #1, Russell Hughes, also recorded a comfortable win – 7 & 6. A very different day from last year where he won on the 19th hole. He then had the luxury of supporting his teammates who still had matches in the balance.
At #3, Paul Thompson, had his customary slow start – again no thanks to a dodgy lie and a 130 metre grubber by his opponent to less than 2 metres, on the tricky 3rd hole. A bounce-back win on the following very scary par 3 had him back in the game. He was never headed again and a brilliant 6-iron to the 17th and a nerveless “up and down” sealed his win – 2 & 1.
Skipper Brenton Derix and his brother Jeremy Derix were both on the wrong end of 1 & 2 losses. Both matches were tight, but as often happens in Match Play a few breaks going the wrong way at the wrong time don’t help. They will both be looking for comeback victories on the open Ranfurlie layout in our next outing.
With 2 live matches we still needed another point to clinch the win. Dale Edwards was also in a very tight match and despite being down early in the afternoon the match was all square on the 18th. Dale handled the pressure situation better than his opponent and took the victory – 1 up. Congrats to Dale on his first pennant victory for the club.
Jack Briggs was also in an arm-wrestle throughout the afternoon and after 18 holes no result. Hence a walk back to the 1st to keep playing. Unfortunately, his drive on the 20th put him out of position and his opponent took advantage to record the victory.
With 1 win and 1 loss the team sits in 5th place, only just behind our next opponent – Green Acres. A week’s break before our next match.
Next Match: Sunday 14 March – 12:10 am at Ranfurlie Golf Club versus Green Acres GC.
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Colt’s Pennant 2021 – Round 2: February 28 – versus Settlers Run at Eastwood Golf Club
The Colts Team were fortunate to have another local venue – at Eastwood Golf Club – for their 2nd round match. This week they took on the powerful Settlers Run outfit.
At the halfway-mark the match was very tight – 2 matches square, 2 down (only by 1 in each) and 1 up. Unfortunately, the Settlers team came home stronger and recorded a 4 to 1 win.
The highlight of the morning’s play was a very convincing win by our #1, Charley Smith – 8 & 7. 
Charley’s game is really coming along strongly, and he will have plenty of opportunities to hone his considerable skills playing at #1.
Congrats to Charlie Lawson, playing his first pennant match for the Club. He started well against a more experienced opponent and kept fighting, but ultimately recorded a 2 & 3 loss.
Dan Scholz, Jordan Irish and Zac Horsey were not able to convert their solid first 9’s into wins.
With the up-coming long week-end, followed by a bye (there are 9 teams and only 7 rounds) the Colts have a couple of weeks to practice their short games and straight hitting – ready for their next match at the tight and tricky Box Hill course.
Next Match: Sunday 21 March – 8:20 am at Box Hill Golf Club versus Patterson River GC
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