The final round of the 59th South African Women’s Inter-Provincial Championship is shaping up for scintillating showdowns in both sections at Riviera on Vaal Golf and Country Club.
Ekurhuleni defeated defending champions Western Province in the final round at Devonvale Golf and Wine Estate last year to lift the premier title for the very first time and the 2018 champions will have it all to do again to go back-to-back on Friday.
Ekurhuleni scored a convincing 6.5 – 2.5 win over Gauteng in Thursday’s second round to protect their number one spot on the A-Section log, but Western Province flexed their muscles and mowed down Boland to set up a mouth-watering replay of last year’s final.
“We won one game in the foursomes and halved the others, and we knew we needed 3 points in the singles for the win,” said Kaylah Williams, who captained Western Province to victory at Mossel Bay Golf Club in 2017. “We needed 4 points in the singles to beat Gauteng in the first round and got it done, so we took the same strategy and went into the singles with a fighting attitude.”
Seasoned campaigner Vicki Traut drew first blood with a 5 & 3 win. Zayb Fredericks won 4 & 3 and Nina Grey won 4 & 2. Former SA Women’s Amateur champion Cara Gorlei added another point with a 4 & 2 win and reigning Nomads SA Girls Rose Bowl champion Williams knocked out Boland Ladies Open champion Megan Streicher 1-up to secure a 7 – 2 result.
“So, on Friday history is repeating itself, but we are very confident,” Williams said. “We’re going to approach the day in two stages – first the foursomes, then the singles – and hopefully things will go our way this year.”
Meanwhile, Mpumalanga Made Most of Their Debut in the Bottom Order of the A-Section
Last year’s B-Section champions edged out Gauteng North 5 – 4 to take pole position in the standings. The side will be fired up for their final round clash with Southern Cape, who was beaten by KwaZulu-Natal 6 – 3.
In the top order, Gauteng and Boland will both be gunning for a first win to get off the bottom step of the standings, while Gauteng North will be chasing their first victory in their final match against KwaZulu-Natal.
The battle for promotion is also shaping up for a ding-dong battle as Western Province B take on a feisty WGSA Invitational Team in what promises to be another glorious tussle.
Western Province quartet Isabella van Rooyen, Anita Chen, Zilke Bal and Bobbi Brown drew the foursomes against Border, but won 2 singles and halved another to win the match 3.5 – 2.5.
“We are excited for the final, especially after today,” said Bal. “Our strategy for the final round will be to play shot for shot, to remain calm and to back each other up.”
The WGSA Invitational Team is proving a tough act to beat, though.
After routing Border 5 – 1 in the first round, Gauteng duo Kim Turgut and Tebogo Lefifi and Ekurhuleni pair Nicole Strydom and Kaylan Boshoff won both foursomes games and all four singles to score a clean sweep against North West.
North West and Border will go head-to-head in the other top order final.
In the bottom order, Free State and Eastern Province drew 3-all, while Northern Cape tasted their first success with a convincing 5 – 1 victory over Limpopo. Northern Cape will chase more success when they take on Free State in the final round, while Eastern Province play Limpopo.
A-Division Top Draw Results:
Ekurhuleni 6.5 vs Gauteng 2.5
Western Province A 7 vs Boland 2
A-Division Top Draw Log:
(Pos-Union-Played-Won-Drawn-Lost-Points-Matches won)
1 Ekurhuleni (2, 2, 0, 0, 4, 13.5)
2 Western Province A (2, 2, 0, 0, 4, 12)
3 Gauteng (2, 0, 0, 2, 0, 6.5)
4 Boland (2, 0, 0, 2, 0, 4)
A-Division Bottom Draw Results:
Gauteng North 4 vs Mpumalanga 5
KwaZulu-Natal 6 vs Southern Cape 3
A-Division Bottom Draw Log:
(Pos-Union-Played-Won-Drawn-Lost-Points-Matches won)
1 Mpumalanga (2, 2, 0, 0, 4, 12.5)
2 Southern Cape (2, 1, 0, 1, 2, 9.5)
3 KwaZulu-Natal (2, 1, 0, 1, 2, 7.5)
4 Gauteng North (2, 0, 0, 2, 0, 6.5)
B-Division Top Draw Results:
Western Province B 3.5 vs Border 2.5
WGSA Invitational Team 6 vs North West 0
B-Division Top Draw Log:
(Pos-Union-Played-Won-Drawn-Lost-Points-Matches won)
1 WGSA Invitational Team (2, 2, 0, 0, 4, 11)
2 Western Province B (2, 2, 0, 0, 4, 7.5)
3 Border (2, 0, 0, 2, 0, 3.5)
4 North West (2, 0, 0, 2, 0, 2)
B-Division Bottom Draw Results
Free State 3 vs Eastern Province 3
Northern Cape 5 vs Limpopo 1
B-Division Bottom Draw Log:
(Pos-Union-Played-Won-Drawn-Lost-Points-Matches won)
1 Free State (2, 1, 1, 0, 3, 8.5)
2 Eastern Province (2, 1, 1, 0, 3, 6.5)
3 Northern Cape (2, 1, 0, 1, 2, 7.5)
4 Limpopo (2, 0, 0, 2, 0, 1.5)
Photo 1 Caption: Ekurhuleni defeated Gauteng 6.5-2.5 in Thursday’s second round at Riviera on Vaal Golf & Country Club to stay in the driver’s seat in the A-Section at the 59th SA Women’s Inter-Provincial. Photo: GolfRSA
With editing by gsport
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