SA Invitational Team (L-R) Simon Norris, Adrian Johnston, Ben Hook, Tim Baker, Ramon Thorne, Sarah Douglass-Norris, David Cherry, Chris Claxton, Chris Whitford, Kari Heikkonen, Tony Timmins, Paul Chapman
The Golf SA versus Australian Defence Force (ADF) Match was played on Mon 5th and Tue 6th May at Royal Adelaide Golf Club with the ADF side winning overall 14 matches to 10.
The ADF Golf Team, a Combined Services team, has been conducting matches against Golf NSW since 1988, Golf Victoria since 1989 and the Australia Seniors Order of Merit Team since 2006.
In 2013 Golf SA was asked to fill the void left by Golf Queensland who played the ADF between 2005 – 2012. In the inaugural year the Golf SA side won 15 matches to 9.
The South Australian team Managed and Captained by SA Golf Industry Hall of Fame Member David Cherry, consisted of 12 invited players. There were 5 new players to the side this year, former Golf SA Chair Chris Whitford, 2013 Mid-Amateur Champion Phil Chapman, Senior Pennant Committee Member Chris Claxton and Golf Operations Manager of Links Lady Bay Simon Norris.
History was made with the ADF Ladies Champion, Malina Rumble being the first lady to compete at an ADFGA state event. In turn Golf SA selected PGA Professional Sarah Douglass-Norris.
Players selected in the SA team (with a handicap up to 6) were commensurate to those selected by ADF who select their team from the previous year 72 hole National Championship, which is held at Federal Golf Club in Canberra each December.
Day 1 & 2 Summary
Day 1 – Mon 5 May 2014 – Fourball & Foursomes Match Play
The ADF took the lead after the first day's play against Golf SA. The morning fourball matches were played in persistent rain that at times became quite heavy making the course an extremely tough test of golf, however all matches were very close and the morning result ended with 3 matches each.
The lunch break saw the weather change for the better and by mid-afternoon the course was bathed in sunshine, which was to the liking of the ADF team as they took a 2 match lead after the foursomes.
At the end of the day's play the ADF held a narrow lead 7 matches to 5, with the singles starting at 12 noon.
Day 2 – Tues 6 May 2014 – Singles Match Play
Requiring 8 of the 12 singles matches for victory, the SA side held a 5-4 lead after 9 singles matches, but ADF Team’s top order proved too strong winning the final 3 matches to claim the singles 7 – 5 and defeat the SA Invitational team 14 to 10 overall.
All players competed in the right spirit, with plenty of new friendships formed.
Thank you to Royal Adelaide Golf Club for hosting the event and the support they provided throughout.
Final Results
Day 1 – Fourball (am)
|
ADF 3 |
Golf SA 3 |
|
|
|
Steve Rotherham & Tony Greenwood |
Lost to |
Tim Baker & Phil Chapman |
3 & 2 |
|
Derrin Morgan & Malina Rumble |
Halved with |
Simon Norris & Sarah Norris |
|
|
Jamie Pitt & Danny Sgalippa |
Halved with |
David Cherry & Kari Heikkonen |
|
|
Sam Harkiss & Joel Standring |
Lost to |
Tony Timmins & Adrian Johnston |
1 down |
|
Daryl Bell & Kim Johansen |
Defeated |
Chris Claxton & Ramon Thorne |
1 up |
|
Rohan Halliday & Ken Gilbert |
Defeated |
Chris Whitford & Ben Hook |
1 up |
|
Day 1 – Foursomes Match Play (pm) |
|
ADF 4 |
Golf SA 2 |
|
|
|
Steve Rotherham & Derrin Morgan |
Defeated |
Tim Baker & Tony Timmons |
5 & 3 |
|
Sam Harkiss & Daryl Bell |
Lost to |
Phil Chapman & Kari Heikkenon |
5 & 4 |
|
Jamie Pitt & Malina Rumble |
Halved with |
Simon Norris & Sarah Norris |
|
|
Tony Greenwood & Danny Sgalippa |
Halved with |
Ramon Thorne & Chris Claxton |
|
|
Ken Gilbert & Kim Johansen |
Defeated |
David Cherry & Chris Whiteford |
3 & 2 |
|
Rohan Halliday & Joel Standring |
Defeated |
Adrian Johnston & Ben Hook |
3 & 1 |
|
Day 2 – Singles Match Play |
|
ADF 7 |
Golf SA 5 |
||
|
Steve Rotherham |
Defeated |
Phil Chapman (Mt Barker-Hahndorf) |
5 & 3 |
|
Derrin Morgan |
Defeated |
Tim Baker (Kooyonga) |
3 & 2 |
|
Malina Rumble |
Defeated |
Sarah Douglas-Norris (Links Lady Bay) |
4 & 3 |
|
Tony Greenwood |
Lost to |
Ramon Thorne (Loxton) |
5 & 4 |
|
Jamie Pitt |
Defeated |
Tony Timmins (Kooyonga) |
5 & 4 |
|
Sam Harkiss |
Lost to |
Adrian Johnson (The Grange) |
2 & 1 |
|
Kim Johansen |
Defeated |
David Cherry (Royal Adelaide) |
2 Up |
|
Daryl Bell |
Halved with |
Simon Norris (Links Lady Bay) |
|
|
Danny Sgalippa |
Defeated |
Ben Hook (Mt Osmond) |
5 & 4 |
|
Joel Standring |
Lost to |
Chris Claxton (Blackwood) |
2 & 1 |
|
Ken Gilbert |
Halved with |
Chris Whitford (Glenelg) |
|
|
Rohan Halliday |
Lost to |
Kari Heikkonen (Blackwood) |
3 & 2 |