Auckland Pennants Results
Titirangi had 5 Men’s teams and 4 Women’s teams competing. Their top 3 Men’s sides are in the top 3 divisions and in the round robin we managed to finish 2nd in the Bissett Shield, Presidents & Vice Presidents behind front runners Akarana, Pukekohe and Remuera. This meant all 3 sides were playing in the Semi-finals at the Grange, this could well have been a first for any club in the Auckland Competition. The Bissett Shield team managed a tight victory over Remuera the 2014 Bissett Shield Winners winning 4.5 – 3.5, the Presidents side faced Manukau and managed to win 5 – 3 and the trifecta was done when the Vice Presidents produced hot golf to beat Whitford Park 7.5 – 0.5.
In the Pennant Finals at Pakuranga, the Vice Presidents faced Remuera and through 9 holes all of the matches were close with nothing separating the 2 teams, on the second 9 some great golf from Remuera pulled them ahead to win 7 – 1.
In the Presidents Final Titirangi was looking for a little bit of redemption after being soundly beaten by Pukekohe 6.5 -1.5 in the last round robin match played at Clarks Beach. Through 9 Holes again nothing separated the 2 sides, as the matches got closer to the end Pukekohe had their noses in front and managed to pull off a 5 – 3 victory and also get them back into the Bissett Shield for 2017.
The Bissett Shield team faced the form team of the year Akarana, we managed to beat them in a very close game in the round robin of which was also played at Pakuranga. Most of the matches early on showed Titirangi had a slight lead, Akarana showed why they were the top team and never gave up pushing all matches right down to the wire. Titirangi managed to get there in the end 5.5 – 2.5 winning the Bissett Shield for the first time in 10 years.
Their Women’s A Pennant team had a 1 point lead going into the final round at Remuera but also faced the home team Remuera. Played in squally rain all day Titirangi managed to best Remuera 14 – 4, of which was good enough to stay ahead of the chasing Royal Auckland side by 1 point. In the Women’s 18 Hole Mid Week final, Titirangi was facing 2 Royal Auckland sides in their respective final at Akarana. Played as a 3 way match over 18 holes where points are earned on all 18 holes Titirangi prevailed 119 to 108.5 & 96.5. What makes the wins by the Titirangi Women all the more special to us is that the club remains extremely competitive in spite of smaller women membership numbers compared to the likes of some of the other clubs.