SCOTS CAN EXPECT TOUGH OPPOSITION FOR LEOPARD TROPHY
SOUTH AFRICA v SCOTLAND TEST
MATCH ON TUESDAY-WEDNESDAY
FROM THE SGU WEBSITE
Top South African amateurs Zander Lombard and Louis Taylor will guide an eight-man national side against a strong line-up from the SGU National Squad at the fifth annual Leopard Trophy on Tuesday and Wednesday.
South Africa has dominated the annual two-day Test since the first battle played out at the prestigious Leopard Creek in Mpumalanga in 2010. They defended the title in 2011 and triumphed again 2013, but were denied a hat-trick in 2012. Lombard is sure the Scots will be looking to emulate the 2012 team and said: “We trailed the Scots by just two points going into the final round, but they went four up after the foursomes.
“We were 9½-5½ down, but we rallied and won four of our matches. The other two matches with Brandon (Stone) and C J (du Plessis) went right down the wire. Scott (Crichton) and Fraser (McKenna) won both at the last hole to win the Test 11½ – 9½.”
Lombard and Taylor were a lethal combination in 2013 and delivered the crushing blow give the South African team a 15.5 – 12.5 victory last year.
“It’s a great feeling when a match goes down the wire like that, especially against the Scots, because they are really determined,” he said.
“They never give an inch; you really have to be on your game.”
A couple of weeks ago, Scottish boys match-play champion Bradley Neil made an impact at the South African stroke-play championship and was narrowly beaten into a share of second by Pretoria amateur Jason Smith.
Lombard and Taylor, the only two survivors from last year’s victorious side, know the team will face a strong challenge at Leopard Creek, but the duo have confidence in the new caps that include current No. 1 Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Thriston Lawrence, N J Arnoldi, Philip Kruse, Matthew Spacey and Werner van Niekerk.
Blairgowrie’s Neil will fly the Scottish flag along with Scott Gibson (Southerness), Ewen Ferguson (Bearsden), Graeme Robertson (Glenbervie), pictured, Connor Syme (Dumfries and County), Jamie Savage (Cawder), Daniel Young (Craigie Hill) and Ben Kinsley (St Andrews).
SAGA president Andre Pieterse said that, results aside, the Test is aimed at providing the country’s top amateurs with an opportunity to compete against top amateurs in the world.
“We shouldn’t lose sight of the end goal, which is to give our players invaluable experience, especially for the rookies,” Pieterse said.
“It’s an opportunity to test themselves and to isolate their strengths and weaknesses, to give them solid feedback to work on going forward.”
The format of the two-day test will be foursomes in the morning, followed by singles in the afternoon on both days.
MATCH ON TUESDAY-WEDNESDAY
FROM THE SGU WEBSITE
Top South African amateurs Zander Lombard and Louis Taylor will guide an eight-man national side against a strong line-up from the SGU National Squad at the fifth annual Leopard Trophy on Tuesday and Wednesday.
South Africa has dominated the annual two-day Test since the first battle played out at the prestigious Leopard Creek in Mpumalanga in 2010. They defended the title in 2011 and triumphed again 2013, but were denied a hat-trick in 2012. Lombard is sure the Scots will be looking to emulate the 2012 team and said: “We trailed the Scots by just two points going into the final round, but they went four up after the foursomes.
“We were 9½-5½ down, but we rallied and won four of our matches. The other two matches with Brandon (Stone) and C J (du Plessis) went right down the wire. Scott (Crichton) and Fraser (McKenna) won both at the last hole to win the Test 11½ – 9½.”
Lombard and Taylor were a lethal combination in 2013 and delivered the crushing blow give the South African team a 15.5 – 12.5 victory last year.
“It’s a great feeling when a match goes down the wire like that, especially against the Scots, because they are really determined,” he said.
“They never give an inch; you really have to be on your game.”
A couple of weeks ago, Scottish boys match-play champion Bradley Neil made an impact at the South African stroke-play championship and was narrowly beaten into a share of second by Pretoria amateur Jason Smith.
Lombard and Taylor, the only two survivors from last year’s victorious side, know the team will face a strong challenge at Leopard Creek, but the duo have confidence in the new caps that include current No. 1 Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Thriston Lawrence, N J Arnoldi, Philip Kruse, Matthew Spacey and Werner van Niekerk.
Blairgowrie’s Neil will fly the Scottish flag along with Scott Gibson (Southerness), Ewen Ferguson (Bearsden), Graeme Robertson (Glenbervie), pictured, Connor Syme (Dumfries and County), Jamie Savage (Cawder), Daniel Young (Craigie Hill) and Ben Kinsley (St Andrews).
SAGA president Andre Pieterse said that, results aside, the Test is aimed at providing the country’s top amateurs with an opportunity to compete against top amateurs in the world.
“We shouldn’t lose sight of the end goal, which is to give our players invaluable experience, especially for the rookies,” Pieterse said.
“It’s an opportunity to test themselves and to isolate their strengths and weaknesses, to give them solid feedback to work on going forward.”
The format of the two-day test will be foursomes in the morning, followed by singles in the afternoon on both days.
Labels: Amateur Men
posted by Colin |
See story on its own page | Monday, February 17, 2014
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