All to play for at Men’s Nationals finals day
The finals of the BSA Men’s Open Nationals on Sunday is set to thrill the crowds at Bedfordview Country Club.
Following a 30% increase in participation from the 2023 BSA Men’s Open Nationals, the bumper 2024 edition has been one of the hardest-fought in recent times.
There are several storylines to follow as the best players from around the country look to have their names engraved on the trophies often held by legends of the game.
On Saturday, Wilson Malobolo and Prince Neluonde advanced into the pairs final after a convincing win over Stoffel Lamprechts and Charles Stassen. It was a neck and neck encounter before some decisive shot-making from Malobolo allowed them to pull away to victory over the last few ends.
The second semi-final between Holicki and Minepetros will be played on Sunday morning before the gold medal encounter later in the day.
Due to a number of players involved in multiple disciplines, it has seen a congested fixture list pile up.
As a result, play will start at 7am on Sunday with Shaun Thomas facing off against the defending champion Paul White in the semi-final of the Open singles.
The winner of that match plays Wayne Roberts in the final.
White eliminated Warren Steyn in the quarters which left Steyn in one discipline following his side’s loss to Jason Evans’ side in the fours early on Saturday.
Evans’ then ended the run of Wayne Rittmuller’s quartet leaving the Protea ace in the last four. They will be up against the Correctional Services side led by PJ Barnard.
In the bottom half, the dream run of Ray Turner’s Randburg fours side are through to the semi-finals after beating two Morningside Country Club teams on Saturday.
They will be quietly confident of making it three in a row but will need to silence the home crowd if they are to do so as there is fierce support for the Alan Gordon led Bedfordview Country Club team.
There is a chance that a Monday finish would required as Gianni Gatti is still to play in the quarters of the Veterans singles. He beat Errol Booth in fine style late on Saturday.
Danie Schoeman of Richards Bay is into the final where he waits patiently for his chance to win the title.
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