Round 3 of the Simpson Cup was played this week at Royal Adelaide, with The Grange taking on Glenelg, the team that defeated us in last year’s Final. The squad was keen to respond and delivered an outstanding team performance.

Alex Hendrick returned to the side, while Declan Nunn made his Simpson Cup debut, becoming Cap Number 139 for the club. Declan’s strong form in the Bonnar Cup earned him his first opportunity in the Simpson team.

The order in which the players lined up, and their results, were as follows:

Number 7 – Declan Nunn

With John Bell on the bag, Declan led the team off. He admitted to feeling nervous on the first tee, understandable for a debut, but it showed how much the opportunity meant. After a slow start, Declan settled into his rhythm and went on to win his first Simpson Cup match 4&2. A terrific debut.

Number 6 – Mark Demasi

Mark, as always, gave a terrific effort. After falling behind early, he fought back to take control by the 12th hole and held on to win his match 2&1.

Number 5 – Alan Xin

Alan, with Hudson Brown caddying, combined well and looked to be enjoying themselves throughout the round. Alan played solid golf all day and, by all reports, holed plenty of putts to secure a 2&1 win.

Number 4 – Jackson Bugdalski

Jackson, with Steve Branson on the bag, played a very close match against his strong opponent Nick Wake. Their match was never separated by more than one hole all day. Nick proved just a little too strong in the end, with Jackson going down 2&1.

Number 3 – Blair Christie

Blair, once again with David Schirripa caddying, was in outstanding form. Every score update suggested he was extending his lead. Blair never gave his opponent a chance and recorded a dominant 7&6 victory, earning the Player of the Round voucher.

Number 2 – Ross Steedman

Ross started superbly, racing to 4 up after eight holes. His opponent, Michael Munn, fought back to square the match after 13 holes. Ross won the 17th to stand 1 up heading to the last, but Michael holed a 25-foot birdie putt on the 18th. Ross narrowly missed his putt, and the match finished all square.

Number 1 – Alex Hendrick

Alex returned to the side this week and produced some outstanding golf. After watching several of his shots throughout the day, it was clear he was striking the ball beautifully. Alex maintained steady pressure all day and won his match 5&3.

The result was a 5.5–1.5 victory, an excellent outcome as the team heads into the break for the Women’s Australian Open at Kooyonga this week.

A big thank you to the many Grange members who came out to support the Simpson team on Sunday. Thanks also to Jeff Green and Mardi Brown for assisting with scoring.

Next Sunday (22 March) we take on Royal Adelaide at The Vines, teeing off at 11:00am from the 1st tee.

Craig Brown

Simpson Manager

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