Round 5 Pennant Wrap – Sunday, 14 August
Sunday saw The Brisbane Golf Club lads travel overseas…well across the Hornibrook Highway, to face the current Division 1 Title holders Redcliffe. We knew that Redcliffe would come out hard to restore their campaign of keeping the flag and it is always a difficult assignment there. BGC were armed with a full compliment of players to choose from, for only the second time this season, as we looked to secure as many points as possible. Turned out that we secured 10.5 points on the day, which meant it was a draw and we now sit at the top of the table.
A massive achievement which would not have been possible without the support of the club and the people within it…players, caddies, parents, supporters who made the trek to Redcliffe, THANK YOU!
Opens 6.5/4.5:
The day didn’t start off according to plan as John Smoljko could not make it due to family concerns…all is well though. This meant that Cooper Clarke came in as a direct replacement for John and ground out a 1up win, no John, you can’t claim that win for your tally. At the top of the order, Sam Slater continued his fine form by dispatching one of the gun players in this division 2&1. Billy Dowling showed some class when he held off a fast charging opponent to claim a valuable half point. Conor Whitelock, promoted to #3, gave the selection panel something to consider by destroying his opponent 7&6. Sam Howse enjoyed a return to the winner’s circle with a composed display and a 2&1 win. Paul Todd, who decided to let someone else carry his bag, fought out a tough 1up win. Craig Mahon, with Super Caddy Peter Lansom, broke his opponent’s heart with a 1up win. In total, 6 games went to the 18th hole, with BGC taking 3.5 points out of them. Showing again that the team know how to win the close ones.
Juniors 2/3:
Not the result our youngsters are used to, but the team can hold their heads high for the way they conducted themselves, on and off the course, in defeat. Campbell Kerr, with Junior Super Caddy Demos Drakos, finished so early that he could have gone home, had a shower, and come back to watch the rest of the matches, when he won 9&8! No surprise that Campbell won the coveted Ron Chopper head cover for Player of the Day. Harvey Palmer continued his great form by taking apart his opponent 4&3.
Masters 2/3:
The Broken Old Blokes couldn’t quite finish off a couple of games and paid the price. Eugene Estella continued on his winning ways with a comfortable 4/3 win. The other point came from Ian Burgess who played very well for a 6&4 belting of his opponent.
Oh, did I mention that the draw against Redcliffe meant that BGC will bring home another Division 1 flag? Well with one round remaining it has been done, Operation Return of the Flag was a success! However, like all Pennant matches, it isn’t over until it is over. We have one more round to go in the season, and on Sunday we travel to Keperra. The new goal is to go through the season undefeated and match the efforts of BGC’s 2018 team which were the first to do that. So whilst we celebrate on the inside, there is still a job to do before we can celebrate appropriately.
