AN UNTRIED combination proved a successful one as Wodonga Golf Club this week saluted an inaugural pennant victory.
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Wodonga defeated Yarrawonga (1) three games to two to claim the North Eastern District Golf Association division one scratch final on Sunday.
The team of Daniel Gill, Ben Hollands, Peter Miller, Ross Hillary and Bob Toal remained unbeaten throughout the competition to qualify for the decider at Jubilee Golf Club Wangaratta.
Hillary, the captain, said some of the players had not represented Wodonga in division one pennant recently or at all, so everyone was excited by the result.
“It’s the first time ever that Wodonga have won a div one scratch pennant final,” he said.
“There were quite a few supporters who made the trip down there as well.
“And of course we all ventured back to the golf club to celebrate.”
Jubilee also hosted the division two scratch final where Yarrawonga (1) defeated Chiltern three games to two.
Three finals were held at Benalla, with Yackandandah downing Myrtleford 3.5-1.5 in section one handicap.
Section two handicap went to Tarrawingee over Wangaratta 3.5-1.5 and in section three handicap Jubilee overcame Chiltern 3-2.
The juniors played at Yarrawonga’s Murray course and Benalla emerged the victor, beating Jubilee 3-2.
Hillary praised the performance of Wodonga’s number one player Daniel Gill, who came up from the juniors and lost only one game during the rounds.
“He’s 14 and he plays off a handicap of one,” Hillary said. “He won every game apart from the one at Beechworth.
“So it was a sensational effort from Daniel at such a young age to have that responsibility and to be playing against some very, very good golfers.
“To go through only losing one game out of the six was great.”
Played over five rounds since March, the pennant competition comprised five matchplay singles games between the teams.
Wodonga led the division one scratch ladder after the preliminary rounds with five wins and 17 games. Yarrawonga (1) finished second with 4-17, followed by Yarrawonga (2) 3-16, Beechworth 2-12, Jubilee 1-6 and Benalla 0-7.
On Sunday Gill, Hillary and Toal each won with holes to spare while Hollands and Miller went down in close matches. Wayne Gill and Owen Roberts served as emergencies for the team.
North Eastern District Golf Association said the pennant finals yielded some tight results in all sections.
The association congratulated the winners and thanked all participants.
