Sloan team top the table

Our Sloan Trophy team made it two from two with a come-from-behind win over Takaka at Murchison on Sunday (Feb 22) to maintain our fast start to the season.

The hard fought 6.5-2.5 victory owed much to our top order and means we currently hold a 4.5 point lead at the top of the table after two rounds.

The tie against a tough Takaka side did not start well with both our juniors being well beaten.

Despite putting well, Mark Clucas was two down at the turn against a steady opponent and couldn’t recover to lose 4/3.

His fellow junior Neil McLaren suffered a 5/4 defeat at the hands of a rival who played out of his skin for a net 68. Neil – who recorded a birdie – was two down at the halfway mark before succumbing early.

Matt Tomczyk marked his Sloan debut at No 4 with a gritty half after being three down after nine holes. Driving and chipping well, Matt mount a stirring fightback to claim a crucial point.

No 3 Keri Kotua ground out a 2-up win over an opponent who didn’t have his best stuff. One up at the turn, Keri was solid off the tee and into the greens and although he struggled with the flat stick he did enough to get the job done.

James Campion was never behind but was made to battle all the way before prevailing 1 up. Two up at the turn, our No 2 drove and chipped well to rack up three birdies in a four over 74 off the stick that proved just good enough against a tenacious rival.

Our No 1 Pete Green was one of the few to chip into and putt really well on the slower greens on his way to a 76. Despite losing a hole to a ruling and going out of bounds on another, Pete kept his cool to convert a three-up lead into a comfortable 4/3 victory.

In other results, defending champions Golden Downs opened their campaign with a thumping 8-1 drubbing of Greenacres. Motueka scored their first win of the season with a 6.5-2.5 win over Totaradale, while Tasman took out Nelson 7-2.

So after two of nine rounds, Waahi Taakaro lead with 13.5 points. We are followed by Nelson (9.5) and the trio of Takaka, Motueka and Tasman on 9 each.  Golden Downs and Greenacres are next with 8 apiece. Totaradale has 4.5 with Murchison trailing on 1.5.

The next round is at Tasman on March 22 when we take on Totaradale.

Our Sloan Trophy team made it two from two with a come from behind win over Takaka at Murchison on Sunday (Feb 22) to maintain our fast start to the season.

The hard fought 6.5-2.5 victory owed much to our top order and means we currently hold a 4.5 point lead at the top of the table after two rounds.

The tie against a tough Takaka side did not start well with both our juniors being well beaten.

Despite putting well, Mark Clucas was two down at the turn against a steady opponent and couldn’t recover to lose 4/3.

His fellow junior Neil McLaren suffered a 5/4 defeat at the hands of a rival who played out of his skin for a net 68. Neil – who recorded a birdie – was two down at the halfway mark before succumbing early.

Matt Tomczyk marked his Sloan debut at No 4 with a gritty half after being three down after nine holes. Driving and chipping well, Matt mount a stirring fightback to claim a crucial point.

No 3 Keri Kotua ground out a 2-up win over an opponent who didn’t have his best stuff. One up at the turn, Keri was solid off the tee and into the greens and although he struggled with the flat stick he did enough to get the job done.

James Campion was never behind but was made to battle all the way before prevailing 1 up. Two up at the turn, our No 2 drove and chipped well to rack up three birdies in a four over 74 off the stick that proved just good enough against a tenacious rival.

Our No 1 Pete Green was one of the few to chip into and putt really well on the slower greens on his way to a 76. Despite losing a hole to a ruling and going out of bounds on another, Pete kept his cool to convert a three-up lead into a comfortable 4/3 victory.

In other results, defending champions Golden Downs opened their campaign with a thumping 8-1 drubbing of Greenacres. Motueka scored their first win of the season with a 6.5-2.5 win over Totaradale, while Tasman took out Nelson 7-2.

So after two of nine rounds, Waahi Taakaro lead with 13.5 points. We are followed by Nelson (9.5) and the trio of Takaka, Motueka and Tasman on 9 each.  Golden Downs and Greenacres are next with 8 apiece. Totaradale has 4.5 with Murchison trailing on 1.5.

The next round is at Tasman on March 22 when we take on Totaradale.