McMillan Shield (more affectionately know as Mac Shield) is a mixed gender team handicap match play competition for juniors aged under 18 years of age. To be eligible to represent the Club in Mac Shield players must not have played any form of pennant higher than Junior Division 2.
ROUND 6
Royal Adelaide 3.5 defeated The Grange 1.5
Report courtesy of Di Faull
The penultimate round of the McMillan Shield was held in near perfect conditions at Thaxted Park Golf Course on Sunday 3rd March. The Royal Adelaide team of Alston Ma, Lucas Huang, Freddie White, Hugo Junin, Finn Higgins and reserve Archie Karamalis defeated Grange 3.5 to 1.5 with 3 matches going to the 18th in a nail biting finish.
Freddie was the first to seal a win over his much older and taller opponent, as you can see from the photo, it truly was “the long and the short of it”. Despite the size difference and his opponents ability to almost drive some shorter par 4s, Freddie was not intimidated and was 2 up after 9 holes, he played the back 9 well with only a couple of slip ups and won 4/3.
Finn was the next to gain a victory over his Grange opponent, he lead from the first hole and never really looked in too much trouble despite some wayward shots and won 4/2.
At this point we had 2 wins and 3 matches that could have gone either way.
Alston had been up for most of the first 9 holes but he lost 8,9,10 and 11 and the match was square going up the 12th. He won the 12th, squared the 13th then lost 14 to be back to square again. A win on 15 was followed by a loss on 16 and 17 was squared. A tight finish on 18 saw the match declared square.
Lucas had a grinding round and was 1 down after 9 holes. He lost a couple of holes and was 3 down with 4 to play, undaunted he won the next 3 holes so it was all square going up the 18th, the hardest hole on the course. A very respectable 7 for 1 point to his opponents 6 for 1 squared the match.
The last match to come down the 18th was Hugo’s, this had been a tightly fought match the whole day with Hugo being 1 or 2 down for most of the first 9 holes, he rallied and squared 10 then won 11 and 12 to bring the match back to square. A loss on 13 was quickly followed by wins on 14 and 15 back to square again and so remained going up the 18th. With his team watching Hugo managed another half for Royal Adelaide.
Thanks to all the players and their caddies and good hitting in the final round next week at The Grange against The Vines.
ROUND 5
Royal Adelaide 4 defeated Tea Tree Gully 1
Report courtesy of Michael Jay
Perfect weather conditions greeted the aspiring talent of junior golfers in the state at Tea Tree Gully last Sunday for the fifth round of this 50-year old competition inspired by The Grange Golf Club.
Our team welcomed just-turned-8 year old Oscar Wang for his first match in RA colours and indeed his initial foray into competitive team competition. What an inspiration he was too. On a handicap of 42 he was able to keep his nose in front all day, being as much as 3 up after 11 holes. He was seriously threatened coming to the 16th only 1 up against his older and more experienced opponent on 30. However he sealed the match on the 17th for a 3/1 win.
Finn Higgins was 6 down after 11 holes and up against an opponent on a lower handicap whose wayward shots had some fortunate outcomes. Finn showed great spirit in fighting to the end eventually doffing is cap and shaking hands on the 15th green for a 4/3 loss.
Freddie White was always in front of his opposition but had to contend with some ill health for the latter part of his match. Showing the sort of qualities reminiscent of many past sporting heroes in times of team adversity, fought on and prevailed for a 2/1 win.
The so far undefeated Liam Hutchison and current holder of RA’s best performed McMillan Shield Trophy leapt out of the blocks and maintained his lead throughout his match to win 5/3.
Alston Ma aged 10 playing number 1 on 22 was playing a boy considerably older, stronger and on a handicap of 13, played wonderfully consistent golf, with his short game immaculate, was a 4/2 winner as well.
So a wonderful result for a 4 – 1 win against the home club.
The Club should be proud of the manner in which all the team members conducted themselves throughout the day, ably assisted by their caddie parents. Being in front and then challenged in the latter half of a match as a number of the team were requires focus and determination which was clearly evident and most encouraging to see. Well done team!
ROUND 4
Royal Adelaide 5 defeated Glenelg 0
Report courtesy of Di Faull
The Royal Adelaide team of Alston Ma, Liam Hutchison, Freddie White, Hugo Junin, Finn Higgins and reserve Archie Karamalis played the Glenelg team in the 4th round of the McMillan Shield at Kooyonga on Sunday.
Playing from the 10th hole the team came home with a resounding 5 – 0 win.
Alston had a tight game with the lead going between both players over the first 9 holes, he was 1 down at this point and the match stayed even till the 5th hole on the front 9 which Alston won. He won the next hole (the 6th), halved the 7th and lost the 8th to be 1 up going down the last hole, the par 5 9th. Having the advantage of an extra shot on his opponent he ignored his manager’s advice to lay up his 3rd shot so he had an easy chip on for his 4th, instead smashing his 3rd shot onto the green for an easy 2 putts to win the match 2 up.
Liam’s match was even over the first 9 holes and he was 1 up at the turn, the next 3 holes were evenly matched then Liam put his foot on the accelerator and won the next 3 holes easily to finish with a 3/2 win.
Freddie had a great match and was also 1 up after 9 holes but back to square with 7 holes to play. He won 2, squared 1 then won the next to be 3 up with 3 to play. A square on the par 3 7th gave him the match 3/2.
Hugo was in control of his match from the first hole and played well to be 2 up after 9 holes. He consolidated this to be 4 up with 6 to play and won the match 5/3.
Finn also was in control of his match from the beginning, he was 5 up after 9 holes and 7 up after 11 but lost the next hole then squared the following hole to win his match 6/5.
Congratulations to the whole team on a great win and thanks to the caddies/parents as always
ROUND 3
Royal Adelaide 3 defeated Thaxted Park 2
Report courtesy of Di Faull
The third round of the McMillan Shield was held at Royal Adelaide on Sunday in warm but reasonable weather. Our team of Alston Ma, Liam Hutchison, Freddie White, Archie Karamalis and Finn Higgins played against a strong Thaxted Park team. Undaunted by the disparity in handicaps our team came home with a 3 – 2 win.
Alston had a very tough match against a player who had a great day – his opponent was 2-under par after 9 holes! Alston did not let this bother him and kept in the game with great drives and excellent chips and bunker play. Sadly he went down 6/5.
Liam played his usual steady golf and was never down, 4 up after 9 holes he had a slight wobble but won 5/4, again with great drives and some excellent bunker shots.
Freddie had a tough match and needed to refocus after missing some close putts. He was 2 down after 9 holes, he stayed in the match and was still 2 down after the 16th. He played 17 and 17A beautifully and so the match was square going up the 18th but lost the match 1 down.
Archie had the easiest match, they were square after 4 holes when his opponent had to withdraw due to illness. Archie played a few more holes and stayed to support the rest of the team.
Finn was evenly matched on handicap but made the best of the home course advantage combined with great drives to take an early lead. A bit of a slump saw him lose the advantage and the match was square after 9 holes. Finn then played really well, he won the next 4 holes squared the next and finished with a 5/3 win.
All the players drove really well and had impressive bunker play, they also remained composed and showed good sportsmanship.
Thanks as always to the caddies for their support.
ROUND 2
Royal Adelaide 4.5 defeated Country 0.5
Report courtesy of Jane Flentje
Round 2 of the McMillan Shield was held last Sunday at Glenelg Golf Club. Our opponents were Country, which is a combined side of keen and talented junior golfers from country areas. Our opponents were from Gawler, Sandy Creek and Victor Harbor.
In the end we had a convincing win of 4.5 to 0.5, but the matches were not easy, our players needed to stay focused in the wind and heat.
Liam Hutchison had a terrific match against a strong player, he was only 1 up or down the whole match. They went into 18 square but an unfortunate second shot from Liam into deep rough meant the best he could do was square the hole and therefore the game. A great result after a long and tight match.
Freddie White had good match, he was never down and won easily 7/5 but had to refocus after he was very disappointed in several shots midway through his front 9. It also seemed Freddie was trying to experience as many bunkers as he could just to show us how easily he could get out of them.
Hugo Junin played a very tight and efficient game and was never down. Hugo also went into many bunkers but came out of them very expertly. He won 5/4.
Finn Higgins had some terrific holes, hitting long and straight tee and fairway shots but at times a wayward tee shot made it hard to score against a strong opponent. He was -2 going into the back 9 but proceeded to win the next 4 holes. He won 2/1.
Oscar Wang had the easy match for the day as Country could not field a 5th player so Oscar won on a forfeit. He stayed out and used the opportunity to play a few holes at Glenelg.
A tough day in the heat for players and caddies but I was impressed with the positive attitude and focus by all. Well done.
ROUND 1
Royal Adelaide 2 lost to Kooyonga 3
Report courtesy of Jane Flentje
A still, sunny afternoon greeted the Royal Adelaide team at the very green, attractive Vines golf course for the first match of the season against Kooyonga. The McMillan Shield, run by The Grange Golf Club, is a developmental competition for young golfers who have a handicap between 12-36. The competition involves five players playing Stableford match play.
Alston Ma and Freddie White both got off to a great start playing very steady golf and both were +3 at the turn but Kooyonga made a comeback. Alston dropped a couple of holes but steadied to go into 17 one up and finished 2/1. Freddie fought hard and took his match to the 18th but went down by 2. Lucas Huang got off to a great start, a very even pairing until he missed a few putts and lost confidence he finished 5/4 down. Hugo Junin had a great game up early but then lost and squared a few holes but came back really strongly to finish 5/4. Despite playing some terrific golf Archie Karamalis came up against an opponent who was playing steady golf, he lost 5/4. Finn Higgins, our playing reserve, had a tight match winning 2 up on the 18th. We lost overall 3/2.
A great afternoon of golf, many thanks to the fabulous parents and caddies.