Posted by: on 11 November 2019
Pollock Cup
Russley looked to continue their winning ways as they headed into the Pollock Cup finals day as the top seeds and defending champions. In the semi final they finished with a convincing 5.5-0.5 win over Harewood. It was a similar story in the second semi final with Christchurch winning by the same margin against Pegasus. In the final Russley's Alisha Ren and Estelle Lin secured the first two points for the team with 6/5 and 2/1 wins respectively. Nicola Webb got Christchurch on the board with a 3/2 win over Jasmine Clancy but Hillary O'Connor balanced this by the same margin with a win for Russley over Mel Newburn. It came down to the final pairings, Christchurch looking to secure a half to force a playoff, Russley were too strong with a 4/3 win for Russley's number one Maddie May over Catherine Bell and a halved match between Olive Tapu and Anika Park.
Woodward Cup
Top seeds Christchurch put up a strong performance against Waitikiri winning their semi final match 5.5-2.5 games to book the first spot into the final. They had a longer lunch break to await their opponents after Russley and Harewood finished with a four all draw after their semi final match. The respective number one's from Russley and Harewood saw Reid Hilton and Josh Smith play off looking to secure a spot for their team in the final against Christchurch. Russley advanced in the playoff after the two players halved the first two playoff holes, based on the conditions of play Russley went through as the higher seed from the round robin.
In the final it was the top order for Christchurch that secured wins for the team with Jordan Bakermans, Nic Kay, Mike Toeke and Richard Reed beating their Russley opponents. Russley's lower order balanced the ledger with wins for Michael McAuley, Owen Burgess, Jacob Roberts and Andrew Dufton which forced a second play-off in the Woodward Cup. Once again the number ones for Russley and Christchurch headed out for a nail biting finish down the 18th hole. Reid Hilton missed his 8 footer for par leaving Jordan Bakermans with a 3 footer for par which he sunk to etch Christchurch's name on the Woodward Cup for 2019 after having last won the cup in 2016.
Blank Cup
Avondale produced a strong performance in the semi final against Templeton showing why they had achieved the top qualifying spot in the round robin where they were unbeaten. In the semi final against Templeton they produced a strong performance throughout the team with a 5.5-2.5 win. In the other semi final Russley who have dominated the Blank Cup competition winning 15 times over the past 17 years faced a tough challenge from the third ranked team Christchurch. Christchurch got through in a tight tussle winning 4.5-3.5 games to secure their spot in the final against Avondale. Avondale relished the opportunity to play in the final against Christchurch and continued their strong showing in the Blank Cup. Blair Batson and Garron Hawker were able to get the first points on the board for Avondale with a win and a half. Nick Brennan, Dean Harvey, Richard Sinclair, Nathan Andrews and Hayden Burns all continued with five more points for Avondale to win their first Blank Cup title with a 6.5-1.5 games win. No doubt Avondale will look forward to mounting their winning Blank Cup plaque in their new clubhouse.
Simon Cup
Templeton looked forward to the opportunity to play Waimairi Beach on their home course after winning their spot in the final by beating Avondale in the semi final played on 3 November. Waimairi Beach booked their spot in the final after beating Bottle Lake 7-1. In the final it was a very tight battle with four matches going the full 18 holes, two halved and 1up to each team. Both teams finished with 4 games each forcing a playoff between Lance Gahan and Fraser Mearns. Fraser Mearns won the first playoff hole to secure the title for his Waimairi Beach team who last won the title in 1970.
Our thanks go to Templeton Golf Club for providing a great venue for the 2019 Interclub Finals Day and to all our volunteers and rules officials who make these competitions possible. Thank you to the players and clubs for the great spirit these matches are played throughout the season. A special thanks to our convenors, Pam Ellis - Pollock Cup, John Thompson - Woodward Cup, John Brettel - Blank Cup, David Silk - Simon Cup.
Full results can be view on our website under Interclub.