THE finale of this year’s Bathurst Golf Club Jimmy Johnson Trophy will pit experience against a family bond after the pairings of John Murphy and John Lillie plus Don and Clinton Lamb survived tense semi-finals on Sunday.
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An annual four ball competition which has been played since 1954, the Jimmy Johnson sees teams of two play a round of qualifiers to decide seedings.
From there, 32 pairings do battle in the knockout format, and this year the two who remain can be considered surprise finalists.
Though vastly experienced, Murphy and Lillie were the 32nd seeds, while the Lambs were ranked 23rd.
Bathurst Golf Club’s club captain Manuel Pro believes picking which of those combinations will be the 2015 champions is a tough task.
“[The] final will match the experience of John Murphy and John Lillie against the younger Don and Clinton Lamb. A very tight game is expected with the winner too hard to pick,” Pro said.
“Murphy and Lillie have played together many times before and as they showed in the semi, they are hard competitors that will never give up.
“On the other hand, the Lamb brothers are also a good pair. Don was the winner of the Presidents Cup in this year’s Club Championships and will give the team consistency, and Clinton can produce that X factor that all winning teams need.
“It will be a great game that can go either way.”
The semi-final between Murphy and Lillie plus number five seeds Adam Hodges and Dean Cobcroft was decided on a countback.
Both teams had amassed 39 points through 18 holes, but it was Murphy and Lillie who got the nod over the highest remaining ranked side.
“The game started well for Hodges and Cobcroft as they easily outplayed their opponents 21 to 15 to lead by six points after nine holes,” Pro said.
“However, a great return to form by Murphy, with three birdies on the next eight holes, found the team only one point behind with one hole to play.”
Murphy and Lillie won 2-1 on the final hole to tie the match and, after the countback, they were declared the victors.
The other semi-final was another final-hole thriller as sixth seeds Bob Pardey and Colin Hope were upset by the Lambs 37 points to 35.
Play was tight throughout, with three points the largest margin between the two pairs across the 18 holes.
“The Lamb brothers got off to a great start to lead by three points after five holes. Pardey and Hope played consistent golf over the next four holes to square the game at the halfway mark at 18 points each,” Pro said.
“The Lamb brothers got their golf back on track over the next seven holes to lead by two points with two holes to go. However, Hope had a great birdie on the 17th hole to square the game at 34 points each with one hole to play.”
It was a three-pointer on the final hole from Clinton Lamb which sealed the deal, he and his brother advancing to this Sunday’s decider.
The two teams are set to tee off at 9am.