Duntryleague skipper Robert Payne has hit back at claims the 2018 Central West District Golf Association’s top division is a race in two.
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Duntry used its get-out-of-jail-free card in Sunday’s round two victory over Dubbo, securing a narrow 3-2 victory on the back of close wins from Dave Corby (20th), Rob Parfett (1up) and Payne (1up) at the neutral venue of Wentworth.
From a likely 5-0 loss with three holes remaining to a 3-2 victory, Payne says those turnarounds prove the unpredictability of golf.
Which led him to bring up the “us and Dubbo” comment made by Mudgee No.1 Mark Hale when looking at the likely contenders in the lead-up to the season’s first round.
“I laughed at the two-horse race comment. Golf is so unpredictable. We turned it around, we should have lost 5-0,” Payne said.
“This is a real confidence builder for our team. We haven’t got our strongest team playing, but we all want to be there and want to play.
“Circumstances change and we’ve got a different side in next week, but it’s who plays well on the day.
“We played the last three holes better than (Dubbo). It’s a roll of the ball, we’re thrilled to get out of there (with the win).”
Nick Coggan (2 and 1) and Matt Gleeson (5 and 3) both secured wins over Tyson Lane and Craig Stojanovic, respectively, early in Sunday’s Dubbo-Duntryleague match-up.
Those results meant the visiting Dubbo outfit, tipped as a genuine contender for the division one pennant, only needed one more victory to remain undefeated heading into the back-half of this year’s draw.
It looked very likely, too.
Dubbo’s Chris Schubert and Mick Wherritt both led by one heading into the final three holes in their match-ups while Ross Horrocks enjoyed a two hole lead with three to go.
One of those three should have fallen Dubbo’s way, but veterans Corby and Parfett jagged victory and Payne mustered a comeback to thwart Dubbo’s bid for victory.
“I think our will to win got us over the line,” Payne said.
“I hit more fairways and greens than Ross (Horrocks), but he played really well. It was a high quality match.”
In the other division one clash at Wentworth, Mudgee scored a comfortable 4-1 victory over Wellington to set up a mouth-watering round three clash with Duntryleague next week at Dubbo.
“If we can beat Mudgee or Wentworth in the final round, we’ll get through,” Payne said.
The CWDGA hadn’t received pool B results at time of publication.