Bonnie Doon team manager Blake Ballinger believes this weekend’s Eric Apperly Shield final is shaping up as a battle for the ages.
Bonnie Doon, the defending champion, will meet a red-hot Concord outfit at Twin Creeks Golf and Country Club with play getting underway at 7.00am on Sunday morning.
RELATED LINKS:
2017 ERiC APPERLY FINAL: Doon Delight at Apperly crown
HONOUR ROLL: Eric Apperly Shield
“Concord is a very deep outfit,” Ballinger said. “We will have to play at our best to roll them, that’s for sure.”
The Doon is a different outfit to the team that took out last year’s final, with a number of new faces joining the team after the departures of Jones Comerford (US College), Mitch Gannon (PGA Traineeship), and Jeremy Fuchs (who turned 22).
Despite the personnel changes, the young outfit has gelled right from the outset and performed exceptionally well. Ballinger said It was a culture that the club had been developing over the last four or five years.
“The boys have a great team environment, and they’ve done it themselves. They genuinely want to see each other do well and it makes it easy when it comes around to team events. They are already in the mindset.”
“Like Fletcher (Murray) who joined the team this year from Kew, he’s done well and is undefeated so far,” Ballinger added.
Some of the Doon squad got a quick practice round in at Twin Creeks last weekend, and Ballinger said the boys had reported back saying it was in great shape.
“Four of them went out last weekend to have a hit, they like the course, and they like the facilities there.”
Ballinger said three of the team had ‘sacrificed’ tickets to Saturday night’s NRL preliminary final between Eastern Suburbs and the Cronulla Sharks due to Sunday’s early start.
“Josh Bell, Andrew Cinelli and Tyrone Jackson are mad Roosters fans. They had to knock back tickets due to the early start, so the three of them are having a night in.
“It’s no chicken dinner for them,” he laughed.
Sunday’s team is: Sebastian Twaddle, Joshua Bell, Andrew Cinelli, Kurt Burns, Fletcher Murray and Tyrone Jackson.
Golf – The billion dollar engine:
Golf has a $1.2 billion impact on the economy of New South Wales annually.
To find out more about the benefits of the sport across the State and in the ACT, please visit:
GOLF IN NSW: Community Impact Study
GOLF IN THE ACT: Community Impact Study