Finals Review Warren Trophy Eastlake GC has taken out the 2012 Warren Trophy, backing up their 2011 Gibson Trophy win with a nail biting victory in the final. With 3 members of their squad graduating to B grade this year, last year s finals experience helped as the number two pairing took out the match and secured the title on the 19th hole. First points in the final went the way of Bayview as they secured the point for the number 1 match wrapping it up on the 16th hole with a solid 4 and 2 win. Bayview s C Moffat and G Brown proved too strong for the Eastlake rivals Costa Frangakis and George Campbell. The number three match was the next decided as Eastlake s Wayne Blore and Marty Melrose defeated J Curry and M Laracy 2 and 1 on the 17th to square up the final at one point each. With the one point each locked away it came down to the number two pairings to decide the final and with nothing separating the two sides after 18 holes the match extended into sudden death heading down the first again. The pressured showed as all four players struggled with their form, in the end a bogey 5 was good enough for Eastlake to take the win with the pairing of Charlie Watts and Warren Lo outlasting the Bayview opponents in G Wilcox and D White. The win is just reward for the Eastlake Golf Club who continue to support the Warren and Gibson competitions year after year.
Gibson Trophy The Final of the Gibson Trophy followed a similar line to the earlier completed Warren Trophy with the contest again decided on the 19th hole. Cabramatta jumped out of the blocks securing the point for the number one match with Ron McMah and Larry Burley proving too good for Woolooware s Ashley Lohman and Tony Ballard. The 6 and 4 win saw their match finish on the 14th hole. Woolooware took out the number three match as Jim Douglas and Jason Kelly held on at the 18th green to defeat Brian Bissett and Don Ho 1up. With one match each won the final would come down to the number two pairings with Woolooware holding the advantage of being 1up heading down the 18th. A solid up and down from Cabramatta combined with some nervous greenside work from Woolooware saw the advantage eroded and the match extended to sudden death and the players on the first tee again. After tasting defeat in last year s final Cabramatta could sense it was now their time, however it wasn t meant to be. The Woolooware pair of Brad Edwards and Brian Rogers held the nerve as the secured the title with a par defeating Bill Basan and Paul Dexter. The win capped a great finals series by Woolooware after qualifying from their division on a countback.
Final Preview This Sunday sees the finals of the Warren and Gibson Trophies for 2012, with four clubs represented across the two finals. The Warren Trophy will feature Bayview up against Eastlake with both sides evenly matched after successful seasons to date. Bayview qualified for the finals on the back of an undefeated preliminary series with a perfect 6-0 record, dropping just four points of a possible 21 in the process. They continued their good form through the finals with 2.5/0.5 quarter final win over Kareela before accounting for Beverley Park in the semi-final 2/1. They will enter the final full of confidence. Eastlake dropped just the one preliminary round match, away to Wallacia to top their division with a 5-1 record. The finals has seen them record two 2/1 victories, defeating Woolooware in the quarters and a red hot Richmond in last week s semi. They will be out to emulate the feats of their club s 2011 Gibson team and bring home the trophy on Sunday. The Gibson Trophy final will see Cabramatta take on Woolooware, with the winner taking home their clubs first Gibson title. Cabramatta qualified for the finals after completing the preliminary rounds with a 5-1 record, an away loss to Richmond being their only blemish. Two dominant 2.5/0.5 wins in the quarters and semi over RAE and The Coast respectively have Cabramatta in good form leading into the final. Woolooware scraped into the finals after surviving a countback after the preliminary rounds after their 4-2 series saw them on equal points and individual games with Cumberland. A better head-to-head result saw them through to the finals where they recorded resounding victories against Bexley and last year s winners Eastlake in the semi. With both finals going the way of Woolooware 2.5/0.5, confidence will be high entering Sunday s contest. Both finals will be played at Georges River GC commencing at 11am.
Author: Jon Shineberg