Rounds six and seven of the 2020 Woodward Cup were held at Templeton Golf Club in fine but very windy conditions. All matches were able to be completed and there were some interesting results.
Round 6
In the morning a close match was expected between Avondale and Waitikiri and so it was with a 4-4 draw. Four matches went to the 18th hole with Leith Campion and Aaron Forysth halving, as did Jack Holmes and Simon Marshall. Waitikiri's Kris O'Neill and Paul McEwan had 1up wins to go with Woo Bong Kim's 3/2 win over Nick Brennan. For Avondale Sam Purdon won at No. 1, and also Richard Sinclair and Nathan Andrews in the middle order.
Jordan Bakermans celebrated his 100th Woodward Cup game with a 3/1 for Christchurch over Pegasus's Kazuma Kobori. Christchurch's top order were strong with wins to Mike Toeke, Richard Reed, and Nick Franzmann. John Rademakers and Marcel Boet also won sealing the comprehensive 6-2 victory. Phil Stephens and Brandon Parker won for Pegasus.
Templeton kept their semi-final hopes alive with a 7-1 win over Hororata. They won all their matches except for two halves - Dan Laughton halved with Andrew Inch, and James Robb halved with Simon Edwards.
Russley were too strong for Bottle Lake 6-2. Steve Dellow and Andrew Green were the shining lights for Bottle Lake, but with a strong line-up right through the team, Russley had wins to Reid Hilton, Hiroki Miya, Michael McAuley, Regan Kilpatrick, and Andrew Dufton.
Harewood accounted for Weedons 6-2. Harewood won the top four matches with wins to Matt McLean, Scott Manyweathers, Josh Smith, and Sam Watkinson, supported also by wins to James Howard, and Gavin O'Hara. For Weedons Austin Hamilton and Bryden Grant won.
Round 7
In the afternoon attention was drawn to the Hororata v Weedons match, the result of which would likely put the loser into the promotion/relegation match. It was Weedons who prevailed 5.5-2.5. At the top-of-the-order Weedon's William Bastings had a good half with Dominic Brettkelly, and he was supported by wins to James Metzger, Mike Robertson, Bryden Grant, Brad Nightingale, and Austin Hamilton. For Hororata Mark Weatherley and Mike Bailey had good wins.
Interest also focused on the top-of-the-table clash between Russley and Christchurch. Four matches went to the 18th with Russley finally prevailing 4.5-3.5. For Russley Reid Hilton beat Tom Parker, Hiroki Miya beat Jordan Bakermans, Michael McAuley halved with Marcel Boet, Regan Kilpatrick beat John Rademakers, and Ben Baker had a narrow 1up victory over Jason Sincock. For Christchurch Mike Toeke beat Hayato Miya 1up, Nick Franzman beat Owen Burgess, and Richard Reed beat Taylor Hosking.
Avondale's Richard Sinclair celebrated his 100th Woodward Cup match with a win over Harewood's Sam Watkinson, and led his team to an important 4.5-3.5 win. For Avondale Sam Purdon, Nathan Andrews, and Daniel Vesty also won, while Nick Brennan halved with James Howard. For Harewood Kerry Branson, Matt McLean, and Josh Smith won.
Templeton needed a win to keep them in the semi-final chase but were not able to beat Pegasus losing 4.5-3.5, with four matches going to the 18th. Pegasus won four out of the five top matches to Kazuma Kobori, Zach May, Shaun Allan, and Phil Stephens, with a half between Brandon Parker and Dan Laughton. For Templeton Tom Wilson, Rhys Wilson, and Jordon Latter won.
Waitikiri beat Bottle Lake 5-3 with wins to Jin Sung Kim, Kris O'Neill, Brett Turner, Woobong Kim, and a rare appearance from Jarrod Satherley. For Bottle Lake Kieran Sharvin, Jason Campbell, and Aaron Neill prevailed.
With two rounds to go at Harewood in two weeks time, Russley has a clear lead over Christchurch, then Pegasus and Avondale. Harewood, Templeton, and Waitikiri still have a chance of making the semis with a couple of wins, and other results going their way.
Click here for Full Individual Results
