Today marked the start of the season for our representative teams in this years Golf NSW Illawarra pennant’s matches. We have a team in each of A, B and C Pennants and a team in the White Horse Cup.
The A Pennants side had a tough start to the year, heading up the road to Gerringong to take on the always strong Links Shell Cove. Unfortunately, only Dave McLean was able to register a win as the team went down 1 : 5 with losses for Mark Johnston, Steven Walda, Lloyd Herron, Jack Brand and Will Ockenden.
The B Pennants travelled to Port Kembla to take on local rivals Nowra. In a close match, the guys went down 2.5 : 3.5. There were wins for Peta Griffin and Craig Ratcliff. Luke Day managed to get a half out of his match winning the 18th. Unfortunately, Gerard Day, Ian Paynter and Justin Mangan all lost their games.
The C Pennants drove up the mountain to Moss Vale to play against Port Kembla. The champions from two years ago got off to a good start with a 3.5 : 2.5 win. Jo Webber and Tracey Casinelli led the team out with strong wins and young star Vincent Muller also had a good win. The match then turned with Big Barney and Garry Hoare losing their games. At this point Will Vale, making his Pennants debut, was 5 down with 5 to play. In an amazing run of holes he managed to win all 5 holes and secure the half point required for the win. Great work Will.
Finally the White Horse Cup Team travelled up the highway to the Vale to take on Port Kembla. In a close match the team went down 3 : 4. There were wins for Troy Webster who had a great debut and Ian Fox. Matthew McAlister halved his game but losses to Garry Podmore, Kye Hawkins and Brendon Miller put the team on the back foot. Needing a win in the top match Simon Rudd, unfortunately, could only get a half point.
