St. Michael’s have claimed the Eric Apperly Shield for the first time since back-to-back crowns in 2013/14 after a dramatic final at Riverside Oaks Golf Resort.
The Maroubra outfit and their opponents, Pymble finished with three matches apiece after regulation play, and it was substitute number one, WIeliang Wang who proved to be the hero with a sudden death par against Ried Brown to claim the coveted Shield.
The final was a contest could’ve gone either way for much of the afternoon.
Images: Anthony Powter
Joe Coles got the Northern Suburbs team off to a bright start with a 2&1 win after being three up early, while his teammate Ned Waddington, who had also jumped out to a three-hole lead through 6 holes, got another one on the board for Pymble with a 3&1 win.
Eddie Ward and Luke Allen had a real arm wrestle, with the pair unable to be separated after nine holes. Ward got a vital hole midway through the back nine before Allen, with a two-putt par on the 16th, squared the match. Ward bounce back, however, winning on the 18th.
Pymble’s Jack Abadee held a one-up lead through nine holes over Jamie Krzyszczak but in another match that went down the wire, Krzyszczak two-putted the last to win the match.
Aiden Powter had a comfortable four up lead over Lachlan Chamberlain by the ninth hole and consolidated it with birdies on the 10th & 11th. The match finished a hole later with Powter scoring an impressive 7&6 win.
In the top match, Reid Brown held the early lead, one up through 9 holes. In another tough battle, the lead see-sawed through the back nine before Brown holed a clutch par to win the 16th to grab a one-hole lead with just two to play. Wang, however, wasn’t done and won the 18th to continue to match.
Brown eventually grabbed the win on the 21st, which meant the final was destined for sudden death, with Brown and Wang charged with the hope of their respective teams.
The playoff proved to be a short-lived affair, however, and when Wang made a par on the first playoff hole, the Shield was bound for St. Michael’s.
Final Scores:
| St Michael’s | Pymble | ||
| Weilang Wang | Lost to | Reid Brown | 21st |
| Aidan Powter | Def | Lachlan Chamberlain | 7/6 |
| Jamie Krzyszcak | Def | Jack Abadee | 1 hole |
| Eddie Ward | Def | Luke Allen | 1 Hole |
| Jeff Pullen | Lost to | Ned Waddington | 3/1 |
| Marco Nocera | Lost to | Joe Coles | 2/1 |
*Wieliang Wang won the Sudden-Death Playoff with a Par on the first hole.