Balmacewen continues to make a late-season dash to the finals after upsetting St Clair at the Otago Golf Club on Saturday.
Back-to-back wins in the past fortnight have propelled the B52s into fourth ahead of Taieri, which they face in the final round, that game looking set to be a makeshift quarterfinal.
St Clair could have almost locked up a top 3 position with two rounds remaining, but the plucky B52s clinched victory to throw the playoffs wide open.
With five games completed, and the ledger sitting at 2.5 games each, the match was settled between the No 3s Tom Lee (B52s) and Parker Aluesi (St Clair). Lee was 1-up playing the 18th. But after Lee came up 35m short of the green after finding the rough from the tee, the advantage lay with Aluesi who left himself a 7m putt for birdie and a chance to halve the fixture.
Lee’s pitch finished 1.2m away and with Aluesi’s birdie narrowly sliding by, he slotted the tricky putt for par, much to the delight of the home gallery — handing the home side a victory over the talented St Clair outfit 3.5-2.5.
Island Park began its string of home games in style with a comprehensive victory against Taieri Lakes at Waldronville.
Wins to Chris Snow, Michael Minty, Mike Wray and Phil Bungard meant the home side was always in control, while Taieri’s points came in the form of No 6 Matt Mercer halving with Scott Clark and No 1 Hayden Robertson defeating Michael Smith on the 17th green.
At Chisholm Links, the Bombers proved too strong for the Links, winning 5-1 and effectively ending any chance of the sea-siders making the semifinals.
It was one-way traffic, really. Brandon Hodgson, Nick Borren and Duncan Croudis all finished their games on the 14th hole, while Tyrone Ratahi and Ben Patston worked a little harder for their wins. Chisholm’s sole point came from the well-performed Jason Pegler at No 2.
Next week Island Park hosts the B52s and will be looking to potentially lock up second place depending on results. Taieri Lakes will look to get back on track against Chisholm Links, while St Clair can put the competition on notice should it claim a result against the Bombers at Corstorphine.
Pennants
The scores
B52s 3.5 St Clair 2.5
Paul Hubbard lost to Joseph Hancock 6/4. Howard Maxwell lost to Jacob Bellamy 2/1. Tom Lee beat Parker Aluesi 1 up. Glen Christie beat Kade Haley-Broderick 2/1. Will Young beat Conor Jamison 3/2. Tom Gillan halved with Cody McMullen.
Chisholm Links 1 Bombers 5
Mackenzie Gibson lost to Brandon Hodgson 5/4. Jason Pegler beat Luke Murdoch 2/1. Michael Weastell lost to Nick Borren 6/4. Mark Collie lost to Duncan Croudis. Matt Heaton lost to Ben Patston 1 up. Sean Geary lost to Tyrone Ratahi 3/2.
Island Park 4.5 Taieri Lakes 1.5
Michael Smith lost to Hayden Robertson 2/1. Chris Snow beat Mark Andrews 4/3. Michael Minty beat Ken Shaw 4/2. Mike Wray beat Josh Boath 1 up. Phil Bungard beat Blair Bennett 5/4. Scott Clark halved with Matt Mercer.
