For the second week in a row damp and windy conditions greeted the players but once again the hosts claimed the limelight.
This time Bottle Lake delivered an upset, getting the better of Russley 5-3. Bottle Lake's playing order yielded dividends as Steve Dellow, Jordon Pruden, Kris O’Neil and Lachlan McKay delivered the all-important wins. Coupled with half points from Kieran Sharvin and Jason Campbell (whose 100th game was celebrated to a big home ovation), they left Russley in an unfamiliar spot early in the season. Reid Hilton and Henry Bryden were winners for Russley. Steve Dellow is pictured teeing off in his match against Owen Burgess.
Weedons are relishing the opportunity to compete in the top flight, this time halving with Harewood. Harewood took points at 1,3,5 and 7 whilst Weedons took points on the evens with 2,4,6 and 8 all winning. Matt McLean and Ranui Herangi had solid wins for Harewood, whilst Anton Fouchee and Johnathon Steiller were impressive for Weedons, both nabbing points.
Christchurch were too strong for Avondale, making it two-from-two after claiming the win 6-2. JJ Love and Mike Toeke got two points at the top, but Marcel Boet’s 8/7 win was an extra bonus for Christchurch. Hayden Burns found himself in a good battle, ultimately winning 1up over Richard Reed. Dan Moriaty earnt the other point for Avondale.
Templeton join Christchurch as one of the two undefeated teams after beating Coringa 6-2. Otago rep Ryan Bellamy clearly felt at home in the conditions, winning 4/3 and Dan Laughton’s win over former teammate Peter Fox was certainly a highlight. Liam Beirne from the Coast took the solitary full point for Coringa along with Nic Kay, Sam Purdon and John Rademakers who had halved matches.
Pegasus continued their strong start, this week beating Waitkiri 6.5-1.5. In a battle of two masters representatives, Peter Brinsdon got the better of Aaron Forsyth. Pegasus also picked up wins with Andrew Green, Shaun Allan, Rodney Van Steenis, Richard Sinclair and Phil Stevens. Matt Burns had a tough battle with Geoff Ruddock, which ultimately ended in a half. Simon Marshall got the solitary win for Waitikiri.
Click here to view the full results.
So far, we are only two rounds into proceedings and a lot has happened. Big wins, halves and upsets are front and centre this year as interesting story lines have already opened up. Round 3 is at Harewood Golf Club next week starting at 11.30am.
