Women’s Metropolitan Major Pennant – Round 1 Report
Posted on: 13 February
Sunday the 4th of February saw the commencement of the Metropolitan Major Pennant Season.
Our team came up against a well credentialed and more experienced St Michaels team, choc full of country talent eager to show their skills.
Despite the daunting prospect, our team of young guns sprinkled with some more experienced players were confident in their abilities to defend our home patch.
The 7am tee off meant for an early start, with players arriving at 6am to commence their preparation for the contest ahead. A team meeting to refresh our plan and approach was held at 6.45am, followed by a Local Rules briefing from Lady Captain, Anne Korte preceded tee-off of the opening match of the year.
Our team order for the day was:
- Savannah Webb, Caddy – Gary Richards
- Lia Lavelle, Caddy – Glenn Day
- Annoushka Maikap, Caddy – Phil Cue
- Maddy Hegarty, Caddy – Trevor Malzard
- Michelle Yang, Caddy – Bob McIntyre
Annabelle Elina was our emergency reserve for the day in case of any last-minute injuries or illness. Fortunately, our 5 selected players were fit and ready to go.
The early skirmishes favoured our team. Slow starts at home had been an issue last season, so a fast start helped quell the nerves of the Manager.
Savannah and Lia established strong early leads and were both 4 up after 8. Annoushka was locked in a tight battle and spent the front 9 mostly 1 or 2 down.
Maddy was struggling with her game against a hot opponent whilst Michelle was slowly gaining the advantage over her opponent, turning 2 up.
The back nine saw Savannah and Lia further build their leads, with both wrapping up their matches on 13, 6/5 and 7/5 respectively. At about the same time Maddy’s defeat was confirmed and we led 2-1. Annoushka was continuing to fight bravely to stay in her match and Michelle continued to improve her position.
Unfortunately, holes ran out for Annoushka, and her opponent prevailed 3/2. Michelle was in a commanding position at 4 up after 13.
However, a late comeback by her opponent delayed celebrations for a hole or two before she prevailed 4/2 and the contest was ours 3 – 2.
Our caddies are central to our ability to perform on the day of any contest. We welcome Gary Richards and Dave Crofts to the caddy ranks this year. Phil Cue and Trevor Malzard stepped up to the plate on Sunday, filling in for Andrew Moore and Dave Crofts who were unavailable for the day. Thank you all for what you do.
We would like to thank the membership of Stonecutters for their continued support.
Special thanks to all the members that came out and cheered us on and the parents and family members of our players who also offer great support. Thanks also to the greens staff and food and beverage staff whose work provided a well-presented course and a hearty celebration of our success on the day.
Our return match at St Michaels is scheduled for 8am, Sunday 11 February at St Michaels. We will be spending this week practising the skills required for effective seaside golf, on a links style course in windy conditions. It will be a tough match, but the team is prepared to put in the work to maximise the opportunities for success.
Craig Baird
Team Manager