Astrong contingent of young Limestone Coast golfers did the region proud by winning two state trophies recently.
Mitchell Angel, Callum Harvey, Charley Robinson, George Longbottom, Delta Robinson, Blake Schroder and Zac Shanks were in top form guiding the Golf South East team to triumphs in the South Australian Country Junior Championships and Brett Ogle Cup.
The double success at the end of last month at the Riverland established South East’s position as the leading regional area in the entire state and team manager Mark Angel could not contain his delight.
“I am very, very proud of all our kids,” he said.
“We were ranked number one going into the Brett Ogle Cup, so the pressure was always on.
“Last year we had some good players who were unavailable because you have to be under 18, so a couple from Mount Gambier Golf Club stepped up which helped us out.
“This year was tougher than last because the Riverland and Eyre Peninsula had good groups.”
South East’s campaign in the teams match play event in the Brett Ogle Cup opened against Mid North where Mitchell Angel, Harvey, Charley Robinson and Longbottom all collected wins to enjoy a dominant start.
On the same day a match-up against Eyre Peninsula awaited and this one was a tighter battle.
Harvey and Mitch Angel had to settle for tight defeats, but the gutsy efforts of Shanks, Delta and Charley Robinson ensured South East scrapped home with a 3-2 win.
These results setup a grandstand finish on the final day as South East and Riverland faced off for the Brett Ogle Cup.
Mark Angel said it was a thrilling battle which went down to the final few holes.
“It was number one against number two and their best player who is off a handicap of one played Mitchell, who is off four, while the rest of the handicaps were closely matched,” he said.
“Mitchell lost to the number one player and Blake got defeated on the 17th hole, so it came down to the last two players and we needed a win and a tie to claim the cup.
“Going down the 18th Zac was one shot down, but his opponent chipped it over the back, so he was able to tie the game.
“All we needed was Callum to win but he went out of bounds on the 16th hole.
“He won the 17th and then put it on the 18th green in two, while the other fella went out of bounds, so we claimed the cup with his half a win.
“It was pretty nerve-racking.”
The South Australian Country Junior Championships were held at Loxton where a mixture of competitions were held.
In the Boys Stroke event, Mitchell Angel was the leading South East player in fourth with scores of 85 and 80, while he was closely followed by Charley Robinson, who occupied fifth.
Harvey, Schroder and Shanks all gave it their best and recorded competitive top 20 finishes.
Charley Robinson was the standout performer in the Boys Nett event with an overall second place finish after an impressive +1, while Schroder, Mitchell Angel and Harvey were all inside the top 20.
The Mixed Stableford event attracted South East players from outside of the Brett Ogle Cup team with Angus Norock, Jorja Morale and Harmonie Tobin also playing well.
Norock recorded a strong fifth place finish, while the likes of Longbottom and Delta Robinson also had a crack.
After the top four gross scores were added up, South East emerged as the overall victors of the championships by 18 shots.
Although Golf South East hold regular sessions and come and try days around the area, it is not solely focused on juniors, it is also represented on the senior stage by the region’s top golfers.
The men’s pennants minor rounds have just been completed with both Mount Gambier sides to face off in one semi-final with Lucindale and Port MacDonnell the other contenders, while the juniors will have their eyes on the return of the Border Battle at a to be confirmed date.
