Simpson Cup Round 2 this week was played at Tea Tree Gully, where we faced The Vines. The weather forecast earlier in the week suggested “end of the world” conditions, but thankfully the Bureau got it completely wrong and the weather turned out to be fine, albeit very humid.
We had to make two changes from Round 1. Alex Hendrick was unavailable due to work commitments, and Darren Baynes welcomed the arrival of his second child, Amelia Baynes. Congratulations to Darren, Sophie and big brother Oliver on the new addition to the family.
The order in which the boys lined up, and their results, were as follows:
Number 7 – Angus Dungey
Angus led us off this week and started well, but his opponent found some great form and Angus went down 4/3.
Number 6 – Matt Wilson
Matt came into the side this week after showing solid form in Bonnar. Matt somehow always seems to end up playing Chris Burns and they normally have a great match. This week was no exception, but unfortunately Matt lost a close contest 2/1.
Number 5 – Mark Demasi
The old man in Mark Demasi (I can call Mark old as we are the same age) was back in the side. Mark loves a scrap and against Tony Nobbs it was a tight battle all day. Mark was down for most of the match but fought back strongly to win 2/1.
Number 4 – Alan Xin (Mufasa)
What can I say except another amazing performance from 16-year-old Alan. He was never headed all day and closed out his match with a 4/3 win. Alan was awarded Player of the Round for his terrific performance.
Number 3 – Jackson Bugdalski
Like everyone else, Jackson had a tight match with his opponent. He was square with three holes to play before finishing strongly to win 2/1. It was fantastic to see Jackson record his first win for the club, particularly after putting in plenty of practice on the greens during the week. After battling with the putter in Round 1, Jackson did not three-putt once this week.
Number 2 – Blair Christie
I really enjoy watching Blair and his caddie Paul Thomas, as it reminds me of when Paul used to caddie for my son Hudson. Paul is always about 50 metres behind Blair as he charges off to his ball at a rate of knots. Blair once again played well and, like Jackson, finished strongly over the closing holes, sealing his match 3/1.
Number 1 – Ross Steedman
Ross stepped into the number one position this week in Alex Hendrick’s absence. Unfortunately, he came up against an opponent playing some outstanding golf. Ross couldn’t quite match his opponent on the day and went down 5/4.
The result was a 4–3 win, which is a terrific outcome for the team. Playing a hills team on a hills course is never easy, especially considering it looked like we might be in trouble at the halfway mark. It was great to see Jackson and Blair close out their matches strongly to secure the win.
I would also like to thank the Bonnar boys for sticking around after their matches, as well as all the caddies for their support. A special mention goes to Declan Nunn, who played his Bonnar match in the morning and then caddied for Alan in the afternoon — an effort that certainly did not go unnoticed by the team.
Thank you also to Jeff Green and Mardi Brown for assisting with scoring.
Next week we play Glenelg at Royal Adelaide, teeing off at 8:35am from the 1st tee.
Craig Brown
Simpson Manager