By Neal Maidment
The Junior Interstate Matches are finely balanced heading into the final day’s play with WA, NSW and QLD all in with a chance of sealing the title.
WA ensured they will be a factor on the final day with a 6.5-1.5 win over a talented South Australia team to set up an intriguing showdown against table-topping NSW on Thursday morning.
Jorja Hinson-Tolchard delivered a captain’s performance to put the first point on the board for WA with a commanding 5&4 win over Katie Seol. Her fellow girls Amanda Gan, Erina Tan and Celine Chen all followed suit – Gan and Tan extending their 100% records in the competition to 4 and 5 matches respectively.
In the boys’ section, Josiah Edwards earned the quickest point of the day with a 7&5 win over Joshua Grundel. With George Barclay also winning his encounter, WA was eyeing an 8-0 whitewash until SA’s final duo fought back superbly against Ollie Marsh and Joe Buttress.
Charlie Nobbs overcame a late two-hole deficit to half with Marsh (who remains unbeaten in his five matches), while Kade Bryant produced an excellent back nine to claim a 2UP win over Buttress.
The result leaves WA having to win a blockbuster match against NSW tomorrow to be in with a shout at the title. NSW extended their 100% winning record in the event with a 6-2 win over SA in the day’s morning session.
WA sit second in the table with 4 wins and 1 defeat from their five matches. They lead QLD by virtue of a slightly better win/loss ratio, but QLD could yet claim the championship if they post a large margin of victory over Victoria on the final day. You can check out the standings here.
Although WA faces a tough task to close out the championship, team coach Alex McKay was delighted with the team’s level of performance under pressure today.
“It was made clear to the players what needed to happen today against SA to give ourselves a chance, so to see the team click into gear and produce such strong individual performances,” he said.
Captain Hinson-Tolchard is relishing the prospect of the must-win match against NSW, adding: “The team is confident going into tomorrow. A strong win against NSW will put us in title contention and we’re all feeling pretty pumped.”
Team captain Jorja Hinson-Tolchard put the first point on the board for WA
Match 5 vs South Australia
Amanda Gan beat Emily Giotis 3&2
Jorja-Hinson Tolchard beat Katie Seol 5&4
Erina Tan beat Imogen Jessen 2&1
Celine Chen beat Raegen Denton 4&2
George Barclay beat Harry Leaf-Milham 3&2
Josiah Edwards beat Joshua Grundel 7&5
Ollie Marsh halved with Charlie Nobbs
Joe Buttress lost to Kade Bryant by 2 holes
Final score: WA 6.5 – 1.5 SA
View the full scores from today here.
Image credits: Solstice Digital/Golf Australia
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