NOAH Best found himself one hole down with four to play as he fought to help Commonwealth to a Victorian Colts Pennant flag.
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He had no shortage of motivation.
Best had the initials of his aunt Lyndal Mueller, who passed away from cancer this past November, on the thumb of his glove.
The Warrnambool-based golfer, who is a member at Port Fairy, channeled that drive to produce a strong turnaround. He pushed back to even with two to play and went on to win two-up over Peninsula-Kingswood's Aryan Sharma.
The match play result was instrumental for Commonwealth, who went on to secure the victory at four wins to one at Kingston Heath in Melbourne's south-east.
I lost my auntie to cancer in November and that was pretty hard. That was a big driving factor for me.
- Noah Best
"I've been struggling a bit with form and confidence," Best told The Standard.
"I lost my auntie to cancer in November and that was pretty hard. That was a big driving factor for me.
"I stayed at her place (in Melbourne) as much as I could. We were really close."
Best said his ball-striking was a high point of his game.
"It was the best it'd been for the season. I haven't hit the ball that good all season," he said.
"I think my scrambling around the greens was good too."
Best's south-west-based teammate, Hamish Huffadine, also won his match at two and one.
Huffadine, the Commonwealth captain, said he was delighted to secure the flag.
"It feels great. I've been playing with a bunch of my closest mates," he said.
"I'm really happy with the way I played. I felt I played well. It was pretty tight all day but to get the win is pretty special.
"I felt like I hit the right spots off the tee and ended up in the right spots. As much as I was playing for myself I was doing it for all my mates in the team and those that were there to support me.
"You look at the badge on your shirt and realise you're not just playing for yourself."
Huffadine, who cards practice rounds at Timboon Golf Club, said the victory was made special given the travel involved for both he and Best.
"When you're practising at home it's more about getting confidence in your swing," he said.
"You then just have to bring that confidence to when you're playing (in Melbourne)."
Commonwealth team manager Tony Donnelly said the flag was deserved given COVID-19 put an end to his club's chances in 2020.
"It was aborted three rounds in and we were undefeated at that point," he said.
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"We felt a little bit cheated as we felt we could've won a flag that year. The guys just handled the pressure on their shoulders with an enormous amount of maturity and all of them ought to be proud."
He said family was to thank for each of his players, especially those based in regional Victoria.
"The support networks have been fantastic, but not just for our guys based in the country," he said.
"I think all of the guys would be the first to admit their family's help has been significant and has helped them get out there and perform.
"They're an absolutely great bunch of guys and it's been great to be a part of their development."
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