Sloan team extend lead after whitewash

Our Sloan Trophy team extended its competition lead by whitewashing Greenacres at Takaka on Sunday (April 19).

The 9-0 drubbing saw Waahi Taakaro go eight points clear of defending champion Golden Downs and perennial challenger Motueka after four rounds of the inter-club competition.

Our No 6 Graham Eggers got the ball rolling with a hard fought 1-up win after being up by the same margin at the midway point. Driving well but finding Takaka's small, undulating greens tricky, Graham - who shot a net 70 -  went two ahead at the 16th only to lose the next. A half at the last got the job done.

His fellow junior Craig Barron didn't play as well but coasted to an easy 5/3 victory. Three up at the turn, Craig's long if not always accurate driving seemed to intimidate an out-of-sorts opponent.

No 4 Matt Tomczyk ground out a 2/1 win on the back of some accurate driving and long irons. He also putted solidly on a course he had never played before. Three up after nine, he withstood some late pressure in what was a good battle.

Keri Kotua wasn't at his best but still made it two wins for our intermediates with a 2-up victory against a rival who suffered a series of shanks. Despite some problems with his irons, Keri putted and chipped solidly to defend his lead which saw him three in front after nine.

Captain James Campion was never behind in his 4/2 win, although he went to the turn all square before pulling away. While he struggled to read the pace of the greens at times, his consistent approach play kept his opponent at bay.

No 1 Peter Green was one down with two to go before birdieing both to snatch an unbelievable 1-up win to ice what was an excellent team effort. In what was a close tussle throughout against a seasoned competitor, Pete - who drove and putted soundly - found himself one down after nine before battling back for a memorable victory.

In other matches, Golden Downs got the better of Motueka 6.5-2.5 in a battle of the heavyweights. Nelson were too good for Totaradale in winning 7-2, while Murchison improved their standing with a 6.5-2.5 result over Tasman.

So after four of eight rounds, Waahi Taakaro leads on 27 points, with both Golden Downs and Motueka locked in second on 19. They are followed by Nelson (18.5) and Takaka (16). Next are Murchison (12.5), Tasman (11.5) and Totaradale (11), with Greenacres languishing in last place on 9.5.

The next round is at Totaradale on May 17 when we play Motueka which begins a run of tough games which will define our season.