English
GermanMatchplay-Weeks for Valley Teams
Now it is also mathematically certain: The men of GC München Valley win the 2nd Bundesliga Süd of the German Golf League 2021 presented by All4Golf and thus move into the relegation match for promotion to the Oberhaus.
At GC München Eichenried, the team of coach Danny Wilde wins the fourth match day and qualifies for the promotion duel with Marienburger Golf-Club, which will take place on August 15 on the course of GC Herzogenaurach. Valley's ladies did not finish higher than 5th place on their 5th league matchday on the course of Münchener GC, but were already qualified for the big Final Four 2021, which will be held on August 7 and 8 on the course of Gut Kaden Golf- und Country Club in Hamburg.
Florian Horder already started to make his mark in the practice round. At the 165 meter long par 3 he chipped a small 8 iron with one shot into the hole. His first hole in one was toasted by his teammates alone, however, as Florian had to work in the gastro.
"We are really strong at the moment and are going into the promotion match against Marienburg with a broad chest," said Valley coach Danny Wilde after the renewed success of his men. Although not at their best - Raphael Geißler and Nicklas Borrmann were missing - his team did not show any weakness at the second-placed GC München Eichenried and once again secured the full five points. On the par 74 course of the BMW International Open in Eichenried, Nicolas Horder was responsible for the best result of his team with 5 under par; in his round of 69 he made seven birdies, only on holes 8 and 10 he had to make a bogey.
Together with Vitek Novak (-2) and Niclas Gimmy (-1), he equaled the dream round of 66, 8 under par, which Eichenried's professional Thomas Rosenmüller conjured up on his home course. Because Eric Dörrenberg, Florian Horder and Laurenz Baumgart each came into the clubhouse with par for Valley and the two youngsters Ben Kelling and Justus Lück contributed noteworthy rounds of 77, Valley shared first place with the host team after the singles at 5 under par.
So the foursomes had to decide the day's victory, and here the more balanced squad finally prevailed: Although Thomas Rosenmüller and his partner Gero Lammel also provided the top result of the day in the foursome with a round of 69, the par rounds of Vitek Novak/Justus Lück and Florian Horder/Eric Dörrenberg and the round of 78 of Nicolas Horder and Laurenz Baumgart were good enough to ultimately relegate Eichenried to second place by one stroke and win the match day with 1 under par.
"The 8 under par of Thomas Rosenmüller in the singles of course already had its effect, and he also showed his class in the foursome. Eichenried was determined to win here on their own course and threw everything into it. That's why, and because we couldn't play with our best players, it was very close this time," said Danny Wilde. "We are very proud to have taken the maximum possible points so far. Our youngsters have played very well, the atmosphere in the team is excellent."
The resolution for next Sunday shows just how good: then Valley will compete at GC Kirchheim-Wendlingen for a catch-up match, and even if everything has already been decided and the team is unassailable at the top of the table with currently 20 points: "They definitely want to win there, too, and will compete at full strength," says Wilde. They will only have to do without their coach, who will be playing in the Final Four, the final tournament for the German team championship in Hamburg, for the first time at the same time as the club's women. The men can probably give him no greater gift than to clinch the perfect season with their fifth victory in their fifth match.
Whether they will then compete in the 1st Bundesliga South in 2022, like the ladies, will of course only be decided on August 15, in the promotion match against Marienburg GC, which has a strong professional in Nick Bachem in the team. Marienburg also leads the table of the 2nd Bundesliga Mitte uncatchably, but dropped points for the first time on Sunday and had to concede the day's victory to host GC Heddesheim Neuzenhof. "Marienburg is a big hunk, but we don't have to hide at all - quite the opposite: we are really in a very good mood," says Danny Wilde, looking forward to the promotion match with great optimism.
On course for the DM at Gut Kaden
Until then, the head coach of GC München Valley still has an exciting week ahead of him: His first division ladies have reached the Final Four for the first time in the club's history and will play for the German Team Championship on August 7 and 8 at the Gut Kaden Golf and Country Club in Hamburg.
Valley will take nine players to the two-day match play showdown, and it will be interesting to see how the team performs in its Final Four debut. "We're going there to win," says Wilde, clearly stating the goal of the trip that Valley's ladies are taking as the No. 2 team in the Southern League - but with an unexpected defeat in their luggage. With a score of 49 over par, they only finished 5th on the 5th day of play on the Munich GC course and had to give way to relegated Fürth. Without professional Verena Gimmy and without top player Chiara Horder, there were no really low rounds in either the singles or the foursomes on Saturday, and Lilian Klug's par round and Sonya Knebel's round of 73 on Sunday were ultimately not enough to get more than one point for the standings. Valley amassed 16 points over the five days of play, was second three times and third once, but finished a commanding second overall.
The slip-up on the Munich GC course isn't a major bummer for Danny Wilde, though - quite the opposite, in fact: "It means expectations aren't quite as high." In fact, the head coach of the women's and men's teams at GC Valley München had planned for a weaker performance by his team in Munich from the outset: "We approached this match day completely differently. There was the specification to play very aggressively to win the hole, because that's exactly what awaits us at the Final Four: a top-class match play tournament."
Even though this plan didn't quite work out and far too few birdies were made on the MGC course, Wilde doesn't think it's a tragedy: "This weekend at the Munich GC was a great learning experience for us. It showed my players that overly aggressive shots and a constant attack on the flag don't always lead to success either."
He is therefore counting on this learning success for the Final Four, and then also again on his top players Verena Gimmy and Chiara Horder, who "already missed a lot in Munich" (Wilde), but will tee off again for Valley at Gut Kaden, with the goal of bringing the DM title to Bavaria in 2021.