JUST half a game separated Mildura and Red Cliffs at the end of the final round – and that was enough for Mildura to qualify for Sunday’s Murray Darling Golf Association Pennant division 1 men’s final.
Red Cliffs held the advantage heading into last weekend’s crucial battle at Riverside, but their 3-2 loss to defending champions Coomealla combined with Mildura’s 3-2 win over the hosts, left them dead-even on points.
The deciding metric was games won across all five rounds and at 12.5 to 12, Mildura locked away the match-up with Coomealla at Robinvale for top honours.
The winless Riverside had a strong start against Mildura when Jarrod Stokker beat Andy Stewart and Steve Wilmann defeated Ash Whitehouse.
Solid wins to Cam Stewart, Joe Rocca and captain Mark Woodhouse were enough for Mildura to scrape home, but only half the battle had been won.
Troy Neville’s tight 1-up victory for Coomealla over Red Cliffs captain Darryl Morgan proved vital as James Daly and Jacob Slimmon also secured victories, while Dom Vartuli (4/3) and Justin McPhee (1-up) had victories over Garth and Ben Doherty respectively for the defeated side.
Coomealla and Mildura will also go head-to-head in the Ladies division 1 final, the former heading in undefeated.
Their quest for back-to-back titles sees them enter the final in red-hot form after a 4.5 to 0.5 win over Red Cliffs.
Angela Plumridge, Salli Fox, Nia Whittle and Jackie Horkings all secured victories, Red Cliffs’ only points coming from Rita Chase sharing honours with Kylie Waters.
Mildura meanwhile were defeated 3-2 by Riverside who finished their season in style.
Solid wins from Stephanie Baker, Chitra Rankin and Wendy Dawson got Riverside over the line, however Dawson’s opponent Sheryleen McGlashan also had reason to celebrate with a hole-in-one on Riverside’s fourth hole.
On their home turf, Riverside secured a spot in the division 2 men’s final with a 3-2 win over Coomealla.
With both teams even on points leading in, the victor would advance and despite two squared games, wins for Nick George and Josh Fleming secured the result.
Their final opponents, Robinvale, will have the home-course advantage following a top-of-the-ladder finish, cemented with a 3.5 to 1.5 win over Red Cliffs.
Blaine Cucia, Michael Smith and Luke Benham all had wins.
Mildura finished their season with their first win over Merbein 3-2, a 1-up win for Paul Leonard over Oscar Mannix and a 2/1 win for Peter Hartmann over Ant Lee important.
Mildura Gold’s division 3 men’s victory over Robinvale was enough book them a place in the final against Riverside.
Gold’s 3-2 win, combined with Red Cliffs 2’s 3-2 loss to Coomealla in a contest that included two halved games, allowed them qualify by just half a point.
The undefeated Riverside had a 5-0 win over Ouyen, while Red Cliffs 1 beat Mildura Black by the same margin.
