Ryder Cup retained: Waahi Taakaro Golf Club – Nelson

Ryder Cup retained
Our Ryder Cup team staged a stirring comeback on Sunday (Dec 1) to snatch a draw against Nelson at Nelson to retain the trophy for another year.
Down 4-8 after the morning four ball best ball and alternate shot 9-hole formats and looking headed for a sizeable defeat, our boys dug in and dominated the afternoon 9-hole individual matchplay 8-4 to come away with a thrilling 12-all draw.
It was the first draw in the 11 times the cup has been played for between Waahi Taakaro and Nelson since 2013 and takes our record to eight wins, a draw and two losses.
The annual challenge started with a four ball best ball with only our intermediate pairing of Aaron Kotua and Gareth Edwards preventing a clean sweep with a 2-up win with Aaron shooting a one under 35 for the front nine, which included four birdies. Many of our team struggled to adapt to the pace of the Nelson greens, which are currently twice the speed of our own.
Down 1-5, we put in a much improved showing in the alternate shot foursomes, sharing the spoils 3-3, with seniors Andy Isle and Bryce Vincent, and juniors Matt Tomczyk and Andrew Craig winning and our two intermediate duos of Paul Tunnicliff and Garth Jameson and Aaron and Gareth halving their matches.
With a big deficit to erase in the afternoon, our juniors gave us a strong start, with Phil Sellers (1-up) and Andrew (2-up) winning and Matt recovering from three down after three to grab a half.
Our intermediates maintained the momentum thanks to wins from Garth (3-up), Paul (2-up) and Aaron (1-up).
It was left to our seniors to complete the comeback. Bryce obliged with a 2-up win, Andy grabbed a vital half by winning his last hole and James Campion tied it up by birdieing his final hole – the par five ninth -for a 1-up victory in front of his team mates after his opponent hit his second out of bounds.
It wasn’t until everyone returned to the clubhouse and the points were tallied that we could celebrate holding onto the trophy, which next year will be played at Waahi Taakaro.
Our thanks go to Nelson captain Bryce Currie and his team for what is always an enjoyable battle and for their hospitality.

Click here to find out more…