The Grange v Glenelg at Flagstaff Hill – 8th May 2022
After much anticipation it was finally Mothers’ Day and, of course, Round 1 of the Men’s Pennant competition. The Grange was playing Glenelg at the tricky Flagstaff Hill course. The weather was good and the course was in pretty good shape. The Grange won the toss and had the honour off the 1st tee at 12:10pm. The team was Alex Hendrick, Ross Steedman, Darren Baynes, Riley Marshall, Steve Maddaford, Nick Siegmund, and Mark Demasi (C).
Captain Mark, playing against Ben Winton at number 7, led the team off and was 2 down after 3 holes. He got to 1 up after 6 holes but, in a tight match, was 1 down after 16 holes. On the 17th, Winton holed a 7m putt for birdie and Mark lost the match 2/1.
Playing at number 6 against Henry Duregon, Nick Siegmund got off to a solid start and was 2 up through 5 holes. Nick was square after 10 holes and found himself 1 down after the 16th hole. A half on the 17th saw him heading down the Par 5, 18th 1 down. Nick won the hole to halve his match. This was a strong result against a tough opponent.
Steve, after a long break from Simpson Cup, was pitted against the very seasoned Nick Wake at number 5. Nick was in sparkling form and Steve struggled to match him. Steve was 3 down through 5 holes, a couple down at the turn and eventually lost 5/4.
Riley played at number 4 against Michael Munn. He was 1 up through 4 holes, back to square for a couple of holes but was 2 up though the 10th hole. Ever reliable, he finished his match off on the 16th hole with a 3/2 win, our first for the day.
Darren, at number 3, was playing Josh Hayes. On the Par 4, 2nd hole he found a number of times that trees are not 80% air and gifted the hole to Hayes. Birdies on holes 1, 4, 9, and 13 and an eagle on 11 showed that Darren had completely recovered from a bout of COVID and he went on to record a strong 5/4 win. We now had two wins and a half.
Alex returned to Simpson Cup after a year’s sabbatical, playing at number 1 against Harry Burner. Solid as ever, Alex was 2 up after 4 holes and still 2 up at the turn. After the 15th hole he was 1 up. On the tricky, dog-leg left Par 4, 16th hole Burner’s drive was long through the fairway finishing near some trees. Alex was in the centre of the fairway in the middle of the dog-leg. Burner’s second shot finished in front of the left greenside bunker and Alex’s was pin high and 3m from the hole. Burner chipped into the bunker and he finished with a bogey. Alex two-putted for par and won the hole to be 2 up with 2 to play. On the par 4, 17th hole Alex’s drive was unplayable and Burner’s was nicely in the middle of the fairway. Alex found the fairway after replaying his tee shot and was on the green 2m from the pin for four. Meanwhile, Burner had missed the green right, chipped on for three and walked off with bogey. Alex slotted his putt for bogey, halved the hole and won the match 2/1! This was a good match with both players finishing several strokes under par.
Now with three wins and a half we could not be beaten and we needed at least a half from Ross, our number two player, to win the day. He was up against the long-hitting Matt Ubergang and was 1 down through 6 holes, back to square after the 7th, 1 up after 11 and back to square through 15 holes. He won the 16th to go 1 up and promptly lost 17 to be all square going down the 18th hole. Fortunately, the arm wrestle ended in a half on the 18th hole and the match was halved to give the team a 4/3 win.
So, the results were Alex won 2/1, Ross halved, Riley won 3/2, Darren won 5/4, Steve lost 5/4, Nick halved and Mark lost 2/1 for an overall 4/3 win. This was a good start to the season against a quality team. Drives by Steve on the first hole and Alex on the seventeenth were early entries in the order of merit for season 2022.
Thanks to caddies Jeff Green, Ron Marshall, Tyson Settre and Paul McDonald for coming out to support their players. Thanks also to Keryn and Geoff Hendrick, Adrian Settre, Michael Siegmund Kayla Dolman and Lauren who came out to watch some good golf.
Next Sunday The Grange takes on Flagstaff Hill at Tea Tree Gully from 12:10pm on the 10th tee. Caddies and gallery welcome.
John Thomas
Captain & Simpson Cup Team Manager