MIDDELBURG (17 October 2014) – Pieter Cooper and Louis Jonck gave Gauteng North manager Eddie Roux two reasons to cry for joy when the pair boxed the crucial putts that sealed the side’s B-Section promotion in the South African Mid-Amateur Inter-Provincial at Middelburg Country Club on Friday.

“We held a 2.5 – 1.5 lead over Mpumalanga after the Foursomes, but they came back at us in the Singles and the match went right down to the last putt,” said Roux.

Phillip Croukamp and Gustav Verster took Gauteng North’s tally to 4.5 with early wins, but Mpumalanga attacked and won three quick Singles in succession to close the gap.

Teddy Mathebula defeated Martin Kraft 5&4, Philip Heyns won 1-up and Steve Smit triumphed 3&2.

After Kelso Hannay went 2-down to Jasper van der Westhuizen, Roux sent a message to Jonck and Cooper that it was time to step up and deliver.

“Louis beat Eddie Daniel 2-up to square the match,” Roux said.

“Pieter hooked his drive into a bunker, but he fired a miraculous trap shot to 10 feet and knocked in the putt to beat Jaco Buitendag 1-up and seal it for us.

“My heart nearly stopped a few times, but this was without a doubt the most amazing week of my golf career. Every man on the team played with pride for their province and for each other.

“These players showed incredible depth of character to fight back every time they got knocked down.  They showed great courage under fire and I am incredibly proud of what they achieved.”

Gauteng North won the prestigious team championship at Irene Country Club in 2009, but was bumped back to the B-Section just 12 months later in Worcester.

“It has been a long and hard battle to get back into the A-Section,” Roux said.

“Now that we’ve finally done it, I can promise you, they won’t get rid of us in a hurry.

The gracious captain and his charges spared a thought for the host union, who led the standings going into the final round and looked set to take a home victory.

“We have to applaud the Mpumalanga team’s fighting spirit,” Roux said.

“We are celebrating, but we know what a tough break it is for our opponents. They fought with great determination and spirit and must be hurting right now. We salute them as fantastic opponents.”

 

B-Section Results

Gauteng North 6.5 vs Mpumalanga 5.5

Free State 8.5 vs Border 3.5

Boland 8 vs Southern Cape 4

 

Final B-Section Log

(Pos-Union-Played-Won-Drawn-Lost-Points-Matches won)

1 Gauteng North (6, 5, 1, 0, 11, 47.0)

2 Mpumalanga (6, 5, 0, 1, 10, 44.5)

3 Free State (6, 4, 0, 2, 8, 38.5)

4 Boland (6, 3, 0, 3, 6, 39.5)

5 Southern Cape (6, 2, 1, 3, 5, 34.5)

6 Border (6, 1, 0, 5, 2, 27.5)

7 Limpopo (6, 0, 0, 6, 0, 20.5)

 

Compiled by Lali Stander

The Write Word Sports Media Consultants