Round 6 of the Metropolitan men’s pennant season had a number of different scenarios for our pennant teams. Some of the teams were looking to finish a tough season on a high whilst others had critical games with high consequences ahead of them.
The division 8 team had an early morning start on Sunday; the team were looking to back up an excellent Saturday night at the club dinner with a commanding win on the Sunday. The game was wrapped up early on in the proceedings with Lake Karrinyup winning 4 and halving 1 of the first 5 matches out. It was good to see the team finish the season on a high.
The division 6 team had the task of traveling out to chequers to play. Unfortunately the team struggles against the home side and went down 6 games to 1, the lone winner being Joe Agnello who had a 3 and 1 victory.
The division 4 team continued their excellent season with a 4 matches to 3 victory over Kwinana. Strong wins to Mike Rundus, Matt Bowra, Jules Harris and captain Mitch Bristow saw the team secure the win they needed to make sure they made the final. The division 4 side is very strong this year with a number of the players having played games in the division 2 side also throughout the season. The team this Sunday will face up against Mt Lawley at Sun City Golf Club, they will tee off from 11:15.
The junior pennant side this week were matched up against an undermanned Sea View side that only had 5 juniors. The team had done the hard yards early in the season which put them in the position here they were unable to miss the final. On Sunday they showed no mercy to the Sea View juniors with the closest match of the day being a 7 & 5 Lake Karrinyup win. The 7 match to 0 victory cemented their position on top of the table and has them matched against the Melville Glades juniors at Hartfield. The final will be contested over 36 holes which will see them tee off at 7:30am. It would be great to see some members make the trip out to support the future of the club.
The division 2 side had seen their finals aspirations slip away last week however still had a very important game against Sea View. The loser of this game would have to play the next week in a relegation final, a position the team were desperate to avoid. Through 9 holes Lake Karrinyup appeared to be in a very solid position with a number of the boys in command of the match. Jon Clancy and Todd Gault made short work of their opponents both winning 7 & 6. David Bandy also had a pleasing victory winning his match 5 & 3. Roger Perrie hit a towering long iron into the par 3 17th which helped him wrap up a 3 & 1 win. Greg Bandy made the most of his last minute call up winning his match on the 17th hole also. Greg’s point was the teams 5th win which was enough to secure the match and avoid the dreaded relegation final. Although the match was secure, Captain Nick Curnow was locked in a high standard match against former state representative Paul Mews. Although Nick played some excellent golf his opponent found a way to narrowly edge him out 2 & 1. Matt Bowra and Tony King had tight matches all day and unfortunately lost their matches by the narrowest of margins.
Although the team did not make the final this year they did show a number of good signs that they are capable of playing some excellent golf and provided a good base to work from next year. It was a case of so close yet so far for the team this year with a few pivotal moments not quite going their way which made all the difference. They will look to bounce back next year and will aim to make the leap into the division 1 competition and ruffle some feathers once they are there.
Good luck to our Division 4 and Junior teams this week in their respective finals.