A NEW Murray Darling Golf Association men’s Division 1 pennant champion is set to be crowned.
Despite sitting on top of the ladder prior to the fourth round at Robinvale Golf Resort, two-time defending champions Coomealla were usurped by Mildura and Red Cliffs, who finished the weekend in the top two places.
While there is still one round remaining for other divisions, the top division have played all their qualifying matches due to a quirk in the draw.
Mildura and Red Cliffs will have to wait until November 17 to play in the final at Coomealla Golf Club.
The first big result came courtesy of Red Cliffs securing a 4-1 win over Coomealla, earning a nine-hole boost along the way.
While there wasn’t much to separate in the individual match-ups, Darryl Morgan, Ben Hogan, Anthony Lee and Brad Steer all secured important victories to move above Coomealla on the ladder.
Troy Neville was the only winner for the NSW side going 1-up against Matt Pascoe.
Mildura then went bigger, as their 5-0 win over Robinvale not only drew them equal on points, but their 22 points earned sent them straight to top spot, pushing Coomealla out of the top two.
On their home course, Robinvale’s Damon Southgate and Brad Hallam went close against David Murray (1-up) and Cam Stewart (2/1) respectively, however big wins for Ash Whitehouse, Mark Woodhouse and Greg Rhodes pushed the visitors to top spot.
In the women’s division, Mildura pulled out a huge result to finish all square against undefeated ladder leaders Red Cliffs.
The biggest margin was Deb Dark’s 3/2 win over Mildura’s Michelle Blair, proving how close it was all round.
Sue Gathercole also won for Red Cliffs, while Marg Morrison and Bev Matthews saluted for the opposition.
The No.1 match-up between Rita Chase and Tracey Katis, who were unable to be split, ultimately confirmed the teams would share the points.
In the Coomealla derby, Coomy White ran out 4-1 winners over Coomy Blue.
Again the margins were relatively close and while Kylie Walets got the Blue side off to a good start, Sonya Gotlitschenko, Ann Bowen, Kate Murdoch and Lee Bottomley all came through with victories to follow.
Riverside had the bye.
In men’s Division 2, Mildura pushed themselves closer to the top two with a 3.5-1.5 win over Coomealla, as Paul Leonard, Tom O’Neill and Matt Adams earned wins.
Riverside have one foot in the final as they remain undefeated following their 4-1 win over Merbein, where Scott Webster’s 5/4 result was the biggest win.
Robinvale, meanwhile, kept the door ajar for Mildura by defeating second-placed Red Cliffs 3.5-1.5, as Jacob Pulvermueller and Anthony Scarcella earned strong wins.
One of the biggest results was Ouyen earning their first victory in MDGA Division 3 men’s competition, defeating Mildura 3-2 through wins from Tom Grigg and Ricky Boyd, while Paul Dean and Ryan Monaghan squared their matches.
Robinvale remain on top following their 3-2 win over Riverside, while a 2.5-all draw between Red Cliffs and Coomealla makes for an exciting final round where four teams can still make the final.
Pennant takes a week off this Sunday before returning on November 10 at Merbein for the fifth and final round.
