The Women’s Country Teams squad travelled to Melbourne this year to compete in Division One. After a very successful year in 2016 all players were looking forward to the challenge of stepping up a division.
At the end of Round 2 at Long Island Golf Club on Monday, Ballarat was sitting comfortably in the middle of the ladder with one loss against North Eastern and one win against South Western, last year’s winners. The competition moved to Cranbourne Golf Club on Tuesday where Ballarat had the bye in the morning, and put in a strong performance to defeat Western in the afternoon. This moved the team in to second position on the ladder behind Western who had completed all four matches. Wednesday morning Ballarat played the final round against Golf Peninsula at Victoria Golf Club.
A win would mean that Ballarat would take home the trophy, however the competition was so close that a loss could have meant relegation. Unfortunately the team was not quite strong enough and was outplayed by a very polished opponent. This meant finishing fourth on the ladder and avoiding relegation.
Congratulation to all players who made a strong commitment to the team by preparing appropriately despite the cold and wet conditions in Ballarat prior to the tournament. A special mention should go to the two junior girls who acquitted themselves extremely well over the three days. Amy Leeson from Buninyong played all four games in the number three position and was again undefeated for the 2016 tournament. Sophie Byrne from Ballarat played three games in position five and six and won two, a fantastic effort for her first year in the team. Ballarat looks forward to the future with both girls only improving their skills in the next twelve months.
A special thanks goes to Leanne Burt (Team Manager) and Gai Skinner for all their support and organisation to get the team prepared. Also to all Caddies who worked diligently over the three days to encourage their players to compete to the best of their ability.
