Invercargill Golf Club continued their unbeaten run in the President Pennants
Invercargill Golf Club continued their unbeaten run in the President Pennants series in cold, wet conditions recently at Winton Golf Club.
The top-of-the-table clash against Queens Park promised to be a test for the defending champions despite "Parks" number one Liam Hewitt being away playing a Charles Tour event in Christchurch.
Early wins to veteran Dale Owen and Rodger Stewart for Queens Park had their noses in front before Liam Balneaves, Invercargill, put his team on the board with an emphatic 6/5 win at number one. Brad Harper and Scott Ramsay joined Balneaves in the clubhouse with wins, leaving the result hanging in the balance for youngster Jacob Boniface to decide. The match result was heading for a draw before Boniface won the final two holes to steal the valuable half and bank maximum points for the Invercargill side.
Mataura had to work hard to earn the points in the battle of the East against Riversdale. Teenager Will Carson opened his Pennants account with a 4/3 victory over Craig Collins and Scott Hellier, making his first appearance for Mataura, contributed a valuable 5/4 result for his adopted team. The match then took an interesting turn with Grant Weller picking off Dean Baxter on the last hole and Joe McCrostie and Scott Stiven securing halves for the Riversdale side, leaving the match in the hands Daniel Elder, Riversdale and Tyler McLean Mataura.
The pair traded several birdies throughout the match before McLean eventually secured the win and the points for his team 2/1.
Greenacres moved into second place with a decisive victory over the home side, adding five valuable games to the team tally, which may be crucial heading into the penultimate weekend.
Daniel Mills and Brett Dobbie started the charge for the visitors before Max Schuster stopped the bleeding for the home team.
Bryan Cantley then shifted the result in favour of the men in green, leaving the top two golfers for both sides to arm wrestle for the final result.
Doug Carmichael and Ewan Clark found tree trouble on the 18th for the hosts presenting Tegan Proudfoot and Kyle Dobbie with an opportunity to secure the remaining games, which they duly obliged.