Western Province will head into the final day of the 63rd SA Premier IPT on the verge of victory after dispatching Central Gauteng 7-5 at Stellenbosch GC on Thursday.
For the umpteenth time this week it was the young duo of Andries van Der Vyfer and Henru Walters who ensured WP made a winning start to the day. Downing Rees Emmanuel and Sean Paxton, the pair made the turn in three-under 33 and 4 holes to the good after birdies at their opening two holes before adding a third red-number at the 5th. Further wins at the 11th and 12th via a par and fourth birdie of the day meant the contest was all but over. Despite Central Gauteng winning the 13th, there was no preventing Van der Vyfer & Walters’ 5&4 victory.
Skipper Andrew Georgiou and Travis Procter were just as dominant in the anchor match as they too made the turn in 33 and five holes clear of Vuyisani Makama and Filip Sakota highlighted by three birdies in a row from the 5th which yielded wins while the par-5 8th was halved in 4s. Extending their lead to 6-up after 11, a loss at the 13th was of little consequence as the Erinvale/Durbanville combination won 5&4.
Cole Cruickshank and Mitch Phigeland landed their third foursomes point of the week via a 3&2 win over Tristan Leonard and Matthew Mortimer. They made a bright start to proceedings with two wins in the first four holes but losses at the 6th and 7th meant the match was all tied up at the turn. Three back-nine wins, through pars at 11 and 16 plus a birdie-2 at 15 delivered another full point for the men from the Cape.
Dan Copeman and Shaun Le Roux were engaged in a nip-and-tuck game with Logan Leisher and Jan-Hendrik Niewoudt but after WP tied the match with two to play through a birdie at 16, Central Gauteng made a decisive birdie-3 at 18 while Le Roux and Copeman carded a 4.
Province had mixed fortunes in the afternoon as they played out to a 4-4 singles session characterised by heavy losses and timely victories.
Entering his afternoon singles tie with a perfect 7-0-0 record, Van der Vyfer fought back from 2-down with seven to play against Niewoudt with wins at the 12th and 13th. Two halved holes followed but the Strand player lost the 16th to a birdie and despite managing to take the game up 18, lost the match after halving the last in pars.
After struggling in the singles earlier in the week, Henru Walters chalked up a commanding 4&3 win against Makama. Birdies for victories at 6 and 8, either side of a par at 7, propelled the 15-year-old to a 3-up advantage through nine holes. Makama ate into the deficit with wins at 10 and 11 but Walters responded with wins of his own at 12, 14 and 15 to earn his second singles win of the week.
Central Gauteng fought their way back into the contest as they earned three 3&2 victories: Sean Paxton over Copeman, Mortimer over Georgiou and Leonard over Procter.
Le Roux delivered a 3&2 win in favour of Province exactly when they needed it as he rebounded from a one-hole deficit against Sakota with nine to play, winning the 10th and 13th in pars before birdies at 14 and 16 yielded two more wins and a full point for his side.
Phigeland had his hands full with Leisher and despite wins at the 4th, 6th and 8th only found himself 1-up at the turn. After winning the 10th, the softly-spoken Atlantic Beach member responded to a loss at the 12th with a birdie-4 at 14 and another win at 17 to seal a 3&1 victory.
Phigeland’s foursomes partner Cruickshank was in complete control of his game with Emmanuel on the front-nine as he raced to a 6-up advantage through eight, winning holes 2-4 and 6-8. Through some bad luck mixed with good play from Emmanuel, Cruickshank had his lead scythed to just 2-up after Emmanuel won four out of five holes from the 9th. Cruickshank settled any nerves he may have been feeling with a par for the win at 15 but was still not out of the woods after Emmanuel won 16 with a birdie. Fortunately for Province it proved too little too late and a halved 17th-hole meant the Royal Cape member prevailed 2&1.
Their 7-5 victory over Central Gauteng sees WP maintain their 5.5 game-point lead over North-West after the latter rebounded from a 1.5-2.5 deficit to beat Eastern Province 7-5.
Western Province end their week with a clash against Southern Cape on Friday and in pole position to add a 19th Premier IPT title to their trophy cabinet.
Photo: Cole Cruickshank & Mitch Phigeland during the 63rd SA Premier IPT at Stellenbosch Golf Club. Credit: GolfRSA