Congratulations to Michael Westerway and Angus Boulton who have claimed the 2021 Men’s Fourball Knockout. Michael and Angus defeated Ashton Craig and Alex Selvarajah 5/4 in the final held on Sunday, 7 February.
The duo recorded a number of impressive wins on their way to the final:
Round One: Robert Dowdy & Tom Schultz 4&3
Round Two: Greg Slade & Geoff Hopkins 4&2
Quarter Final: Lim Li & Peter Soo 2&1
Semi Final: Mark Bayliss & Neil Hicks 3&2
Michael and Angus will be recognised for their win at the Trophy Presentation Night.
To view the full results, please click here.
Semi Finals – Sunday, 31 January
The Semi Finals of the Men’s Fourball Knockout were held on Sunday, 31 January and we certainly had some upsets with two high-quality pairings being eliminated from the competition.
Ashton Craig and Alex Selvarajah were the first team to advance through to the final, with a very respectable 3&2 win over James Berg and Grahame Pryke. Craig and Selvarajah will face off against Michael Westerway and Angus Boulton, who defeated crowd favourites Mark Bayliss and Neil Hicks, 3&2. Some excellent golf was played in this match with Westerway really stepping up, scoring 1 under par for the last 12 holes.
The final will be held this Sunday, 7 February at 7.56am and will be following the Men’s Major Pennant Matches against NSW GC, which is a must win for Avondale. Regardless of the outcome, one thing is for certain and that is many beers will be consumed post-match on Bruce Craig’s house account.
Quarter Finals – Sunday, 24 January
The Quarter Finals of the Men’s Fourball Knockout were held on Sunday, 24 January and once again we had a number of high-quality matches.
Leading the pack once again was the formidable duo of Ashton Craig and Alex Selvarajah taking on Greg Rich and Ian Dear, who were not going to go down without a fight. It was not looking good for Ashton and Alex, with multiple shanks from Ashton and a few lost balls from Alex, the pair were lucky to be all square through nine holes. However, a late back nine surge from the two youngsters ensured a 3&2 victory. It may be worth the two of them investing in some lessons before this Sunday, as they will face underdogs Grahame Pryke and James Berg, who had a 4&3 victory over Keith Allan and David Worrad. James, previously a Major Pennant player finished it off in style for the two with a birdie on each the last 3 holes.
Michael Westerway and Angus Boulton again didn’t disappoint, although the matching outfits they selected were not ideal for the hot and windy conditions. The two took on Peter Soo and Lim Li, who had only played one previous match due to a walkover in the second round. Arguably one of the best A-Reserve players in the Club, Westerway will be looking to make another finals appearance in a Major Club event. Hopefully he has been hitting the gym lately as he may need to carry Boulton over the finish line, in what may be their toughest match yet.
Mark Bayliss and Neil Hicks certainly had their work cut out for them this week, as they faced Mick Doughan and Ross Fazzolari. The two Board members felt like they had the upper hand all day, however momentum shifted quickly after a couple of 3-putts from the Captain. Mark was fired up, making birdies on 14 and 16 to put him and Hicksie 1 up with 2 to play. After a skied three wood from Neil on the 17th tee which left him 145 metres from the flag, Neil pulled out his trusty 6 iron and hit what might be considered the best 6 iron of his life, stumping it to 3 feet. After watching his opponents make an absolute train wreck of the hole, Neil put a nice smooth stroke on it, making the putt for birdie and a 2&1 victory.
Semi Final Matches – Sunday, 31 January
Ashton Craig & Alex Selvarajah vs. Grahame Pryke & James Berg at 12.52pm
Michael Westerway & Angus Boulton vs. Mark Bayliss & Neil Hicks at 1.00pm
To view the results and draw, please click here.
Round Two – Sunday, 17 January
The Men’s Fourball Knockout battle continues as another 8 teams were eliminated in the second round on Sunday, 17 January.
Ashton Craig and Alex Selvarajah continued their dominance, defeating Chris Barton and Ily Dean 3&2. If Ashton starts talking to you about how good his new irons are, don’t listen to him, he is just trying to get in your head. Alex has been seen grinding on the range almost every day, particularly after his recent 18-hole 12 point Stableford round, and if the pair come away with a win in this match, they will be sure to thank Rick Shiels and MeAndMyGolf in their victory speech. Ashton and Alex will now verse Greg Rich and Ian Dear, who are both playing very solid golf and recorded a 3&2 win over David McGilvray and Roger Lindsay.
After defeating the defending champions last week, Michael Westerway and Angus Boulton were feeling as confident as ever, and this week faced the veteran duo of Greg Slade and Geoff Hopkins. Both Westy and Boulton appear to be on the Bryson bandwagon, drinking up to 6 protein shakes per day as they were hitting all the Par 5’s in two. Their distance certainly got them over the line in this match as they came away with a 4&2 win. While the two young ones gave the older blokes a lesson on golf, Greg walked them both through the history of Australian Chardonnay and Shiraz, so it sounds like it was a good learning experience for all.
Mark Bayliss spent the week on a high after his nett hole in one and nett eagle last week (key word nett), but he and Neil Hicks were brought back to reality when they found themselves all square with Sean O’Malley and Graeme Houston on the 18th green. While Sean was in red hot form after 40 points on Saturday, and hitting both the 7th and 9th greens in two, it wasn’t enough as Mark and Neil went on to secure their victory on the 20th hole. They will now go on to verse Mick Doughan and Ross Fazzolari in the Quarter Finals, who were victorious over Tom Beauchamp and Sebastian Allison 3&1.
Keith Allan and David Worrad are also through to the Quarter Finals, after defeating Mark Lawler and Warren Hennessy 1 up on the 18th. They will now verse James Berg and Grahame Pryke after a close match with Bob Russell and Bill Brownie, who took them all the way to the 19th hole. Lim Li and Peter Soo were also able to advance through to the Quarter Finals after a walkover in the second round.
To view all the results, please click here.
Round One – Sunday, 10 January
The 2021 Men’s Fourball Knockout kicked off on Sunday, 10 January and there were a number of highlights from the first round matches.
In the first match of the day, Alex Selvarajah teamed up with Ashton Craig to participate in his first ever matchplay event at Avondale, taking on Andrew Walker and Ian Gibb. When asked how the experience was he said he loved the “low key competitiveness”. Tensions were high in this match, as Ashton still hasn’t let it go that Andrew beat him in the first round of the 2019 B Grade Championship. He was sure to bring his A game, and the pair were able to come away with a convincing 5&4 win over Walker and Gibb. Their second round opponents, Ily Dean and Chris Barton are looking as fresh as ever after a bye in the first round and will give the young guns a run for their money.
The biggest upset of the day was the departure of two-time defending champions, Rob Dowdy and Tom Schultz. Michael Westerway and Angus Boulton knew they had a big task ahead of them for the good of all Avondale Members and just couldn’t let them get the three peat. The 2020 A Reserve Runner Up and his good mate in their matching outfits took care of business with a convincing 4&3 victory, meaning Dowdy & Schultz will need to find another event to get an invite back to Presentation Night. Westerway and Boulton will now verse the very experienced team of PACK Plate Representative Players Greg Slade and Geoff Hopkins in the second round.
After losing to Mark Lawler and Warren Hennessy in the first round of the 2020 event, Tony Dight thought he would upgrade from Daryl Fogarty to Terry Heilman and was drawn against the same pair in the first round this year! Tony was feeling confident when Lawler showed up with 25 stitches in his leg, but this didn’t phase Lawler and Hennessy, and they went on to record a 7/6 victory. They will now face Keith Allan and David Worrad, who recorded a 1 up win over Channy Shergill and Warren Hogan.
Another notable performance was that from Club Captain Mark Bayliss and new Board member Neil Hicks. After being in lockdown for a number of weeks, the pair returned to Avondale for their first game in three weeks and won 3&2 over father and son duo, Stephen and Samuel Orchard. Samuel, who just joined Avondale last year, has reduced his handicap from 17 down to 9 in just 3 months. Special mention to Bayliss who received two shots, one on the par-3 8th hole and one on the par-4 12th. Mark birdied the 8th for a nett hole in one, as well as the 12th for a nett eagle. Words from the Captain himself – “Easy game this golf thing”. Let’s see how he backs up next week after that statement!
In the final match of the day, youth proved too good for experience, with Sebastian Allison and Tom Beauchamp recording a 1 up win down the 19th against 2020 finalists, Andrea Fontana and Brian Tasker. Andrea has been known as a force to be wreckoned with in any matchplay event, but with Tom still buzzing from his albatross last week and the new 3/4 handicap rule, the young pair proved to be too good and will verse Ross Fazzolari and Mick Doughan in the second round.
To view the full results from round one, please click here. The second round will be held on Sunday, 17 January with matches commencing from 12.05pm.
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