Canada leads Four Nations Cup after Second Day, winning 5.5 points against South Africa
(Caledon, ON) - The PGA of Canada had a strong outing on Thursday at the Four Nations Cup, claiming 5.5 out of a possible 6 points against South Africa to take the lead into the final-round of the Four Nations Cup.
Meanwhile, the PGA of New Zealand, who fell to South Africa on Wednesday, won 4 points against Australia.
The format sees each team compete against one other team each day, with each team playing two fourball matches in the morning and four singles matches in the afternoon.
The two winning countries each day are awarded a ‘match point’ for their team. The team that finishes the competition with the most ‘match points’ claims the Four Nations Cup, with individually ‘game points’ serving as a tiebreaker.
Each team is comprised of four of the nation’s top PGA professionals, having qualified via various National Championship victories, or status on their PGA’s Order of Merit.
The PGA of Canada won the event the last time they competed in 2022, while Australia are the defending champions, having won the event in 2023.
With Canada leading, claiming a ‘match point’ each day, a victory over the Australians in the final round would secure the trophy.
The PGA of Canada’s team consists of: Kevin Stinson (BC), Yohann Benson (Quebec), Craig Stefureak (ONT - Ottawa), and Mitchell Fox (Alberta)
Overall standings after day 2:
Canada: 2 match points (9 game points)
New Zealand: 1 match points (6.5 game points)
South Africa: 1 match point (5.5 game points)
Australia: 0 match points (3 game points)
Individual matches were as follows:
Morning Fourball (due to a rain delay, the morning session was a 9-hole match):
Yohann Benson + Kevin Stinson (Canada) Halves Ivano Ficalbi + Jannie Botha (South Africa)
Mitchell Fox + Craig Stefureak (Canada) def. Cornell Muller + Gavin Vorster (South Africa) 1 UP
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Sam Eaves + Matthew Docking (Australia) def. Sean Towndrow + Brett Allan (New Zealand) 1 UP
Dongwoo Kang + Pieter Zwart (New Zealand) def. TJ King + Mitchell Smith (Australia) 1 UP
Afternoon Singles:
Yohann Benson (Canada) def. Jannie Botha (South Afrida) 3&2
Kevin Stinson (Canada) def. Gavin Vorster (South Africa) 1 UP
Mitchell Fox (Canada) def. Cornell Muller (South Africa) 6&5
Craig Stefureak (Canada) def. Ivano Ficalbi (South Africa) 2 UP
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TJ King (Australia) def. Brett Allan (New Zealand) 4&3
Sean Towndrow (New Zealand) def. Mitchell Smith (Australia) 4&3
Dongwoo Kang (New Zealand) def. Mathew Docking (Australia) 4&3
Peiter Zwart (New Zealand) def. Sam Eaves (Australia) 5&4
Detailed results, as well as information about pairings each day, are available here.
Photos from the event are available here
Final round fourball matches will begin at 8 AM on Friday, with the PGA of Canada competing against Australia and the PGA of South Africa competing against the PGA of New Zealand.