Day 3 – Wednesday 28 September
Golf Peninsula Vic, Western & Dalhousie have triumphed on the final day of the 2016 Men’s Country Week Teams’ Matches. The Shield was tightly contest with only individual games separating the top three. The 5 & 2 win by Golf Peninsula Vic over West Gippsland in the final round showdown gave them title and the coveted Shield.
With a strong possibility for a required countback to determine a winner going into the final round, West Gippsland, Geelong and eventual winners Golf Peninsula all were equally aware what was at stake, and the exciting matches that were on display impressed the supporters that hid amongst the tree lines.
Clayton Nicholls and Greg Wilson (Golf Peninsula Vic.), Loren Bunting, Tyson Gill and Todd Morgan (Geelong) have remained undefeated after their contests today, as have Peter Brown and Craig Hasthorpe (West Gippsland) who’s district finished third on the leaderboard.
Western, one of the strongest teams on paper, finished their season in style defeating East Gippsland 7 & 0, resulting in them obtaining the Plate Division.
With as little as half of a match being the difference between Western and Goulburn Valley Tuesday night and Goulburn Valley being ahead on matches won, Western knew this was a must win match to secure the overall win. With fantastic wins from Shane Gurnett and Simon Goggin, the team was led to a whitewash victory, along with Clint Foster and Alistair Gillin who were undefeated for Western. Other undefeated players in the shield include Chris Tomlinson and Dylan Grandell (Goulburn Valley), Mark Hann (Murray Darling) and Hayden Nielsen (Golf Central Vic.)
The Bowl came down to the final round contest between Northern & Dalhousie, and the contest didn’t disappoint. The 4 & 3 win by Dalhousie meant the Bowl was in their hands. Crucial wins by Hugh Parks & Alex Fraser at the bottom end ultimately gave Dalhousie the victory. Fraser also had a successful three days going undefeated in his four matches. Northern duo, James McLean & Lindsay Watts also went undefeated. The Bowl Division couldn’t have been much tighter with all Districts securing a win.
As per tradition, a Victorian Country Team was selected post matches with the following players nominated to take on the South Australian Country Team at Naracoorte (SA) from Saturday 29- Sunday 30 October.
|
Team |
|
Kyle Michel © (Goulburn Valley) |
|
Peter Brown (West Gippsland) |
|
Clint Foster (Western) |
|
Brett Kellow (Goulburn Valley) |
|
Angus McKillop (West Gippsland) |
|
Caleb Perry (Western) |
|
Casey Schmidt (Wimmera) |
|
Chris Tomlinson (Goulburn Valley) |
|
Emergencies: |
|
Nathan Schneider (North Eastern) |
|
Tom Couling (West Gippsland) |
|
Simon Goggin (Western) |
Golf Victoria would like to thank all Districts for participating in this year’s event. Furthermore, the hosting clubs (Settlers Run, Keysborough, Cranbourne, Riversdale, Patterson River & Victoria) are to be acknowledged for their generosity in making their course available.
To find all round results, stories & photos, please click here
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Day 2 – Tuesday 27 September
Day two of Men’s Country Week Teams’ Matches was completed today producing some fascinating results. The Shield & Plate went to the home of the Riversdale Cup, while the Bowl played on a magnificent Cranbourne Golf Club.
Intermittent rain plagued the majority of this afternoons round 4 contests as a clear but chilly morning was farewelled at Riversdale after the conclusion of round 3. Golf Peninsula Vic. claimed another whitewash victory today, overpowering Ballarat 7 matches to 0, and were still in first position before receiving the bye in the afternoon.
During this time however, West Gippsland notched up two 6/1 wins over North Eastern and Ballarat, going into the final round tomorrow sitting atop the Shield division ladder. Tomorrow’s match between these teams is set to be a great finale to the tournament for 2016.
The Plate division has seen overnight third placed Western jump up to first position after defeating Goulburn Valley (4/3) and Murray Darling (5/2) in their respective contests. Despite this loss however, Goulburn Valley aren’t out of the race yet, with top honours not guaranteed until the final scores are returned tomorrow.
In the Bowl, Dalhousie & Wimmera contested the match of the season so far, with Casey Schmidt (Wimmera) making a solid par on the 18th to secure the 4/3 win for Wimmera. After the third round, all teams had secured at least one win. The afternoon matches proved much the same.
An important win from Northern over Wimmera this afternoon secures a final round showdown against Dalhousie tomorrow at Patterson River. The winner of Dalhousie versus Northern will be crowned the Bowl Champions, and will be promoted to the Plate for 2017.
While prolonged wet weather has been hitting the State, thankfully the weather during play has been decent with only the odd shower experienced this afternoon. We are all set for an exciting final round tomorrow with the Shield & Plate playing at Victoria Golf Club, and the Bowl will finish up their 2016 campaign at Patterson River.
Catch up on all the results by clicking here.
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Day 1 – Monday 26 September
The 2016 Men’s Country Week Teams’ Matches got underway today at Keysborough & Settlers Run in what started out as a pleasant day. The Shield & Plate contested their matches at Keysborough, while the Bowl made the trip out to Settlers Run. 2016 sees all division comprise of five District teams with seven matches in each contest.
Keysborough saw the first days’ play for the Shield and Plate divisions, with all players finishing in time for the unpleasant change in weather conditions. After the afternoon contest all districts are tied with one contest each, apart fron North Eastern who are looking to put their first win on the board during play tomorrow. Golf Peninsula are leading the table on individual matches won with a total of 10, sitting 3 ahead of Geelong on 7 matches.
The lead for the Plate after day one has been taken by the Goulburn Valley outfit, jumping out of the gate early to confidently win both contests today against East Gippsland (4 ½ to 2 ½) in the morning, and Golf Central (6 ½ to ½) after lunch. Murray Darling received the bye for round one and come out fresh in the afternoon, defeating East Gippsland 4 ½ to 2 ½ to be one contest behind the leaders who are yet to have the bye.
The first two rounds of the Bowl contests took place at Settlers Run Golf & Country Club. It was the Dalhousie District leading the charge with convincing 5 & 2 wins in both contests. The tail end of Dalhousie’s team (3-7) have yet to lose a match. Young gun Christian Chierego the stand out with impressive wins (7 & 6, 3 & 2). Kara Kara currently sit second after racking up a solid win, defeating Northern in this afternoons round 2 contest.
2016 also marks the first year in which the Country Championships have been detached from the Country Teams’ Matches making the week more accessible for both Country District players & Hosting Clubs. The Country Champs has made a move to Country Victoria, with the 2017 event to be played at Rosebud Country Club on the weekend of 25-26 February 2017.
Players move to Riversdale (Shield & Plate) & Cranbourne (Bowl) tomorrow for rounds three & four.