After the first round was washed out last weekend the 2021 Woodward Cup finally got underway in fine conditions at Clearwater yesterday.
Alot of interest centred around the new Templeton line-up and they didn't disappoint with a solid 6-2 win over a gutsy Avondale. Mike Toeke, Ryan Bellamy, and Dan Laughton won well, while Nick Franzman, Tom Wilson, and Josh Simpson got last hole wins. For Avondale Richard Sinclair soundly beat Jordon Latter, and Dan Moriarty beat Sam McGill.
Bottle Lake sent a warning to other teams when they drew with perennial favourites Russley. For Russley Reid Hilton, Ben Baker, and Regan Kilpatrick had wins while Owen Burgess halved with Daniel Asplin, and Andrew Dufton halved with Steve Dellow. Kieran Sharvin, Aaron Neill, and Jason Campbell won for Bottle Lake.
Pegasus stated their title aspirations with a comprehensive 6-2 win over Christchurch. Kazuma Kobori, Zach May, Phil Stephens, Marcus Mariu, and Peter Brinsdon all had wins, while James Loveday halved with Jason Sincock, and James Cadenhead halved with Finlay Jones. John "Dutchie" Rademakers was the shining light for Christchurch beating Nathan Gilbert 1up.
Hosts Clearwater were too good for Weedons winning 5.5-2.5. Wins to Archie Gothard, Leon Yee, Will Bastings, Ryan Adams, and Seb May set up the win, while Ben Burgess halved with Brad Nightingale. For Weedons Hayden Clinton and Jonathan Stieller won.
Harewood accounted for Waitikiri 5-3 with wins to Matt McLean, Josh Smith, Sam Watkinson, Gavin O'Hara, and Kerry Branson. For Waitikiri Aaron Forsyth, Woo Bong Kim, and Antony Dale won.
From a crowd and spectacle point-of-view it is somewhat disappointing to see that in some matches our top players are not playing against each other as clubs move their order around to try and maximise points.There were several lopsided wins at No.1 that will not help the Canterbury selectors as they try and judge form leading into upcoming rep fixtures.
The next round is at Avondale this Sunday with the clash between traditional rivals Russley and Christchurch being the highlight.
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