The 2017 season of Golf Victoria Pennant continued on Sunday 26 March with round two contests being played across 14 Divisions of Men’s, Women’s and Colts competitions under clear skies and with warm and sunny weather making for ideal playing conditions.
The six clubs competing in Division 6 of Men’s Pennant also commenced their respective 2017 campaign with round one contests held at Yarrambat and Kooringal.
In reviewing results at this early stage of the 2017 season, the head to head match play format of Pennant golf brought about a number of exciting results: –
Men’s Pennant Wrap
Outside of the three victors in round one of Division 6, ten clubs remain undefeated after the opening two weeks of Men’s Pennant.
In Division 1, it’s 2015 Champions Commonwealth that head the ladder after a solid five match to two victory over Peninsula-Kingswood. With Latrobe hosting Division 1 Men’s Pennant for the first time since the early 1990’s, Victoria also remain undefeated after accounting for the hosts by the narrow margin of four matches to three, including three matches which were decided in sudden-death.
Kingston Heath has dominated the opening two rounds in Division 2 with big wins against Rossdale and The Heritage and at this early stage look like the team to beat. Yarra Yarra is also undefeated after surviving a four-three result against Woodlands on Sunday. A 19th hole win by No. 4 player, Ian Susic proving vital.
Division 3 sees Heidelberg and Huntingdale dominating the competition with each club taking 11 matches out of 14 played over the opening two rounds. Heidelberg was particularly impressive in accounting for Kew on Sunday at Huntingdale, winning all seven matches with no match getting beyond the 17th hole. Huntingdale consolidated top spot with a five-two result over Gisborne.
While Eastwood and Churchill-Waverley are both undefeated and head up the Division 4 ladder, just four individual matches separate the top and bottom teams indicating the closeness of this competition even at this early stage of the 2017 season. Eastwood retained top position with a five-two win over Cranbourne while Churchill-Waverley won four-three for the second successive week, this time outlasting Sandhurst.
Division 5 was hosted at Bacchus Marsh in week two with Riversdale maintain its lead after defeated Medway four-three. A 21st hole win by Riversdale No. 3, Henry Fewell over Medway’s Justin Norman was the deciding match in a contest where six of the seven matches were decided on the 17th hole or beyond. Settlers Run also stayed undefeated after accounting for the hosts four-three. No. 7 player, Glenn Dignan’s 20th hole victory against Matthew McInness from Bacchus Marsh was the eventual decider.
Women’s Pennant Wrap
Seven clubs are undefeated in Women’s Pennant after the opening two rounds of the 2017 season. Defending champions Victoria again look to be the clear team to beat in Women’s Division 1 after a resounding five match to two victory against Commonwealth in Sunday’s second round encounter at Peninsula-Kingswood (Kingswood site) which included No. 1 Kono Matsumoto prevailing at the 21st in a tight match against Commonwealth’s Alexandra Hilliard.
With the exception of 2015 Women’s Division 1 champions Huntingdale, all other clubs in the Division have already registered a contest win and a close season looks a certainty with the third-round heading to Victoria this Sunday.
Kingston Heath and Royal Melbourne are undefeated in Division 2 after both recorded big victories on Sunday. Headed by Victorian Women’s team member Olivia Kline, Kingston Heath accounted for Riversdale in all seven matches whilst Royal Melbourne defeated Sandhurst six-one. After narrowly going down to Kingston Heath in round one, The National remained in touch in third position on the ladder with a six-one win over Woodlands.
Following Sunday’s second round being played over the Henley course at The Heritage, Keysborough is the only undefeated club in Division 3 after two rounds courtesy of a six-one victory against Patterson River. The Heritage, which won its opening round contest over Settlers Run had the bye on Sunday and returns to action this weekend at Patterson River.
Eastern and Gisborne are the form teams in Division 4 with both remaining unbeaten following Sunday’s second round at Kooringal. Eastern won four-three for the second week in a row, this time outlasting Northern which included final hole wins by Sue Lush, Marlene Ayres and Helen Drake. Gisborne also had a four match to tree win over Rossdale with No.1 player Jo-Anne McPhee winning the deciding match at the 18th against Rossdale’s Michelle Robinson.
Colts Pennant Wrap
Ten clubs are undefeated in Colts as the under-24 competition heads towards round three this Sunday.
Commonwealth heads the Division 1 Colts ladder having dropped just 1.5 matches from the 10 played to date in 2017. Having won four of the last five Division 1 Colts titles, Commonwealth accounted for Yarra Yarra in Sunday’s second round at Latrobe to retain its perfect start to the season. Woodlands also remains unbeaten thanks to a three match to two victory against Peninsula-Kingswood.
Division 2 is headed by The National and Kingston Heath who both maintained undefeated records following the second round played at Yarra Yarra last Sunday. The National defeated Churchill-Waverley by four matches to one while Kingston Heath survived a close encounter with Huntingdale three-two including two matches which were squared on the 18th.
Three clubs in Sanctuary Lakes, Sunshine and Riversdale are all unbeaten in Division 3 of Colts after Sunday’s round at Huntingdale. Sanctuary Lakes head the ladder after a 3.5/1.5 match win over Sandhurst to go with the club’s clean-sweep over Northern in the opening round of the season. Amongst the other five clubs in the Division, only Cranbourne has registered a contest win which makes Sunday’s round at Heidelberg vitally important.
Keysborough and Kew are undefeated in Division 4 after Sunday’s second round was played in Melbourne’s west at Eynesbury. Keysborough consolidated top spot on the ladder with a four match to one victory against Eastwood while Kew retained its perfect record with a win over Cheltenham by the same margin.
Division 5 Colts, which comprises nine clubs, ventured to Bacchus Marsh for round two. Notwithstanding the byes which apply to the draw for this Division, Melbourne Airport and Whittlesea remain unbeaten of the clubs that have played both contests to date. Melbourne Airport accounted for Goonawarra four-one while Whittlesea defeated Berwick-Montuna by the same margin.
The 2017 GV Pennant Season continues for all Divisions on Sunday 2 April at the following venues:
|
Men’s & Colts Pennant |
|
|
Division |
Host Venue |
|
1 |
Commonwealth |
|
2 |
Kingston Heath |
|
3 |
Heidelberg |
|
4 |
Yering Meadows |
|
5 |
Berwick-Montuna |
|
6 |
Sunshine |
|
Women’s Pennant |
|
|
Division |
Host Venue |
|
1 |
Victoria |
|
2 |
Woodlands |
|
3 |
Patterson River |
|
4 |
Eastern |
Click here for the pennant homepage for full results, draws and photos.