Championship season 2018

The following events/championships were contested by our club’s team players during the 2018 playing season:

05 – 06 May – Qualification for the Österr. Senior Team Championship (GC Donau)

01 – 02 June – Austr. Senior Team Championship (GC Stärk-Ansfelden)

June 22 – 24 – Austr. MidAm Team Championships (GCC Schloss Pichlarn)

July 13 – 15 – Steir. Club Team Championships (GC Schladming Dachstein)

31 August – 02 September – Steir. Senior and MidAm Team Championships (GC Murau-Kreischberg)

Austrian Senior Team Championships 2018

After the successful qualification in the GC Donau (rank 11 of 28 teams) the Austrian championships were on the agenda. Senior Team Championships in Div. 6 at GC Stärk-Ansfelden/Upper Austria) on the program. Heavily weakened by replacements – with Pres. Fritz Kaltenbrunner, Gerhard Rainer and Robert Meier three of the successful qualifiers were unfortunately not available – we went into the 1st match against GC Hainburg/NÖ. The foursome with Heli Lemmerer and Ewald Luidold was over long distances tw. clearly ahead, but ultimately had to settle for a draw. Erich M. Pötsch, who had stepped in to replace our President, prevailed in the 1. single unexpectedly clear with 5 on 3 against his opponent and thus contributed a point to the final score of 1.5 : 3.5. The remaining singles with Edi Weitgasser (2 on 1), Harry Ramsbacher (6 on 5) and Richard Pickl (4 on 3) were unfortunately lost in the opening round. At 2nd day of play we met the GC Salzburg – Klessheim and here our strong foursome with Heli and Ewald with a 3 on 1 sovereignly took the 1st full point. Unfortunately, Erich M. Pötsch could not keep up his strong performance from the day before and was defeated 3 on 2. Edi Weitgasser lost with 2 on 1, but Richard Pickl contributed with 2 on another point – the last single with Harry Ramsbacher was very close, who had to admit defeat with a very good performance only at the last hole. With the final score of 2:3 it was already clear that willy-nilly we will have to qualify again next year – because the opponent on the last match day was GC Mittersill, who had won their two matches quite clearly until then. In the foursome Hannes Schuster and Michi Flicker played this time, who had to admit defeat after a strong performance with 2 to 1. Richard Pickl avoided a zero defeat with an all square, after the other singles were lost with 4 on 3 (Edi and Erich) and Harry on the last hole.

All players gave their best and fought for every single point in their matches in partly midsummer temperatures – despite the defeats, the mood in the team is good and that alone counts at least as much as a good result. Many thanks to all players for the great effort in the qualification and at the competition in Ansfelden!

Austrian MidAm Team Championships 2018 – Victory in the 4th division and promotion to the 3rd division

Playing a team state championship at the home club offers a particularly great motivation! We used the home advantage ice-cold and could fix with 3 victories impressively the promotion and with it the entry into the 3rd division. On the first day we had to deal with the supposed favorites, the GC Salzburg. This encounter developed into an extremely dramatic match. After Johannes Baltl and “the first surprise” Bernhard Bonfert each scored a full point, the decision had to be made in the foursome with Erich M. Pötsch and Bernhard Gruber. The 18th hole was marked by great shots from both foursomes and an exciting showdown. Finally, Bernhard Gruber was able to sink a downhill putt from about 1 meter on the 9-green and thus secured the 3:2 opening victory.

The 2nd match day was more than pleasant from our point of view. A smooth 5:0 win over GCC Brunn am Gebirge put us in an ideal starting position and secured us a promotion duel on the final day. The 3rd match day became a showdown against the strong GC Salzkammergut. The first point was taken by our president Fritz Kaltenbrunner. The 2nd point snatched in the Top Match midAm-Captain Johannes Baltl. The all-important third point was finally secured by Harry Ramsbacher on the 17th hole.

The united strong performance, where every single one of the 9 players used on the 3 match days got at least one point, was the key to the successful promotion to the 3rd division!

The successful Pichlarner MidAm Team 2018:
Fritz Kaltenbrunner, Harry Ramsbacher, Richard Pickl, Bernhard Bonfert, Bernhard Gruber, Erich M. Pötsch, Hannes Schuster, Ewald Luidold & Johannes Baltl

Steric Club Team Championships 2018 – Victory in the 4th flight & advancement to 3rd flight

Our very young team consisting of Simon Häusler, Markus Mayer, Niki & Max Flicker, Christoph Perhab, Kevin Sölkner, Matthias Luidold and oldie Johannes Baltl presented itself from the 14. until July 15 to the challenge of achieving immediate promotion back to the 3rd Division this year.

On the first day the Traminer Golfclub Klöch was our opponent. The “Flicker Brothers” really pulled off their opponents in the foursome. In the single, club champion Christoh Perhab dominated his match. The decisive point for the 3 : 2 victory was secured by Markus “Chef” Mayer in the jump-off and our team could celebrate the first victory party. On the 2nd day we were very strong across the board and offered performances worth seeing. The two Flickers were unbeatable again, making them a great promise for the future. Oldie Johannes Baltl and Kevin Sölkner led the preliminary decision with the intermediate 3 : 0. Thus, the games still in progress were shared by Matthias Luidold and Markus Mayer, with both ahead at this point. The smooth victory against GC Liebenau paved the way for promotion again.

Styrian midAm team championships 2018 – 2nd place in 2nd flight

With both State Championships for Seniors and MidAms being played on the same weekend, it is always somewhat of a challenge for us as Captains to find enough players for both teams and for multiple days of play.

This year, both the MidAm’s and the Seniors fielded an extremely powerful squad that took down the host GC Murau 3.5 to 1.5 on the first day. This success secured us an advancement duel against GC Andritz on Sunday for a place in the 1st flight with the 8 best MidAm teams in Styria. The team consisting of Erich M. Pötsch, Bernhard Gruber, Bernhard Bonfert, Edi Weitgasser, Christian Ruhdorfer and Johannes Baltl lost this match by the narrowest of margins. Only at the last hole GC Andritz decided the match at the score of 2 : 2 and thus we are left with the hope and goal to advance to the 1st Flight in the coming season.

 

Styrian Senior Team Championships 2018 – 5th place in 1st flight

On the first day, our seniors dueled with the reigning state champion, GC Freiberg. This proved to be an extremely tough opponent and in the end, despite very good performances and close games, we lost 1.5 : 3.5.

Thus, the remaining 2 match days were about securing the class preservation or, ideally, to create a better starting position in the tournament grid for the next championship in 2019. Despite, or maybe because of the extremely difficult conditions, our seniors kept the upper hand on the 2nd match day against GC Frauenthal. Visibly equipped with great self-confidence, a small sensation succeeded on Sunday against the GC Murhof, which was used to success and favored. Our senior team with Robert Meier, Gerhard Rainer, Friedrich Kaltenbrunner, Richard Pickl, Hannes Schuster, Ewald Luidold, Harry Ramsbacher and Helmut Lemmerer celebrated a well-deserved 3 : 2 success and secured the excellent 5th place in the 1st flight.