UNDEFEATED ladder leaders Cohuna Golf have continued their winning start to the Northern Valley pennant competition with a hard-fought nine-shot win over a gallant Racecourse on Saturday.
While morning rain made for a somewhat damp start across the region, the reigning Northern District division 1 premiers proved too strong on the new synthetic Racecourse green, despite a close encounters across all three rinks.
Harrison Keely and his team claimed the biggest victory of the afternoon, defeating Glenn McIntosh by five shots, while Jarred Hammond’s team also secured the points against Norm Smith with a 24-20 win.
Racecourse did manage to salvage something from their day, with Mick Holyoak and Rodney Fletcher finishing at 21-shots each to share the points on the final rink.
The win sees Cohuna Golf maintain their stranglehold on the fledgling competition, with eight wins from their first eight matches and a 28-point lead at the top of the ladder.
Racecourse’s day went from bad to worse however, with rivals Murray Downs knocking them out of the top four following their upset 80-56 win over second placed Kerang.
It has been a slow build into the new season from last year’s Murray Valley division 1 premiers, with the Rams having lost four of their first five fixtures in the Northern Valley competition, with their third victory of the season seeing them replace Racecourse in fourth spot.
It was a commanding performance from Murray Downs, who registered wins on all three rinks, with the combination of Josh Thornton, Kevin Rowe, Rex Howard and Damien Caldwell the most in control with a 12-shot win over Dale Hancock and his team.
Brian Lehmann’s team also recorded a double figure result, defeating Jason Wilson 28-18, while Jason Lunghusen and Garry McCaig battled hard all afternoon, with McCaig claiming the full points for the Rams on the final end with a two-shot win.
Although the loss widens the gap between the top two teams, Kerang remain second heading into their top of the table clash with Cohuna Golf this Saturday. Kerang needs to take home victory on at least one rink to ensure third-placed Barham remain behind them, with just 11 points separating the two clubs on the ladder.
Barham’s 46-shot win over Kerang Golf was the most dominant of the weekend, with the visitors taking control early in the contest and never relenting in the 90-46 victory.
The biggest margin of the game belonged to Brody Harker and his team of Lyndon Shadbolt, Kane Wilson and Craig Harker, who monstered Kerang Golf’s Lloyd Murray with 38-shot to 11 thrashing.
Also among Barham’s big winners were Brian Mansbridge’s team, who recorded a 17-shot win over Frank Ritchie’s combination, 27-10.
The final rink saw a much closer affair however, with Kerang Golf’s Richard Murray, Dallas Mathers, Andrew Charles and Alan Hird falling agonisingly close to salvaging some points for their team after going down by two shots to Barham’s Mark Quor.
The win sees Barham maintain their grip on third place ahead of their all important home match against Racecourse this Saturday, with Kerang Golf looking to atone against the much-improved Murray Downs when they host the Rams.
