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Gisborne ParkBUBBA Watson usually cries when he wins a major title. Not Gisborne’s Bubba Watson.
Gary “Bubba” Watson — no relation to the two-time Masters champion and world No.18 — had a far more composed reaction as he joined an “elite” list of Judy O’Rourke Memorial Trophy winners on Sunday.
Watson, a member of Patutahi, won a countback to earn the trophy presented at the annual Gisborne Thistle AFC Golf Day.
Watson shot 91-25-66 — one of several players on that net — but he got the nod for the overall net and was modest in his victory speech, without being overcome by the emotion that had his professional namesake re-nicknamed “Blubber” Watson.
Wind was the protagonist in the scoring being down on previous years.
Watson was joined on 42 stableford points by John Collier, who won the men’s division, Mike Hutton, who was second, and RNZAF Auckland club member Paddy Martin, who won the women’s stableford.
The best stableford by a Thistle member went to Brad Reynolds, who had 14 pars and four bogeys in his 76-8-68, for 40.
Thomas Donovan highlighted his men’s gross-winning 73 with an eagle-3 on the ninth hole.
Hawke’s Bay-Poverty Bay No.1 Tessa McDonald shot 1-under 72 to win the women’s gross.
SUNDAY — Gisborne Thistle AFC Golf Day, Judy O’Rourke Memorial overall net: G Watson 66.
Morley Cup stableford (Thistle club member): B Reynolds 40.
Thistle club member, non-golfer, stableford: G Udall.
Men’s gross: T Donovan 73.
Woman’s gross: T McDonald 72.
Men’s stableford: J Collier 42, M Hutton 42, K Gunness 41, P Koorey 40, W Donnelly 40, N Hansen 39, S Phillips 39, B Huhu 38, D Boyle 38, T Trowell 38, G Morley 37, M Callaghan 37, J Charles 37, C Jeffrey 37, B Morgan 37, M Greene 37, B Watene 37, M Baple 37, T Reynolds 37, R Johnston 36, P Stewart 37, R Taylor 36, W Whangapirita 36.
Women’s stableford: P Martin 42, J Akuhata 38, P Johansen 36, J Kerr 35, J Foot 34, B Walker 33.
Approaches: F Stewart-Hill, P Thomson.
Nearest to line: G McKinnon, T McDonald.
Long drives: P Stewart, T McDonald.
Twos: G Marchbank, M Callaghan, P Martin, T Sharp, R Moore.
SATURDAY — Men’s stableford: S Peneha 41, G Sharp 40.
Twos: E Parkin.
Draw for Agnes Attwood women’s matchplay, SATURDAY — No.1 tee, 9am: P Johansen v J Akuhata-Nickerson, B Walker v M Alley. 9.06: T Ford v A Richardson, L McFlinn v S Mestrom.
Finals on Sunday.
COMING UP: SUNDAY, Welcome Tournament, 9am shotgun start.
PatutahiMIKE de Luze probably thought he had done enough for the men’s 17+ net honours on Sunday.
He hadn’t. Though only just.
De Luze had to settle for second on countback behind an in-form Ashley Hindmarsh after both returned net 60s.
Hindmarsh, second in his division of the Friday nine-hole stableford, had a personal best 77 off 17 handicap to win on countback from de Luze’s 79 off 19.
Denise Johnston won the women’s division with 82-16-66.
SUNDAY — Men’s stableford, 0-16 1: Sel Pohatu 64, T Green 64, H Brown 65, G Brown 69.
17+: A Hindmarsh 60, M de Luze 60, S Pittar 61, D Skudder 65.
Women’s net: D Johnston 66.
Twos: Shayde Skudder, R Moleta, C Brown, J Blair.
FRIDAY — Nine-hole stableford, senior division: M Pohatu 22, H Pomana 22, P Summersby 21, J Brodie 20, H Brown 20, T Bordie 20.
Junior division: D Tarry 25, A Hindmarsh 23, I Tietjen 22, D Maloy 21, W Bruce 21, J Neilson 21.
Poverty BayCLIVE Dean took a more conservative path to breaking 80 than the previous time he scored in the 70s.
In March of 2018, Dean had nines of 34, 43 in a round of 77.
Last Thursday he had matching 39s, including birdies on the 15th and 18th, to win the division 1 men’s stableford with 78-14-64, for 44 points.
Willie Mortleman’s first round of the year was one to remember — 79-15-64, which won him division 2 with 44 points.
Jimmy Situ (40pts) and Warwick Thompson (39) were the Saturday competition winners.
SATURDAY — Men’s stableford, division 1: J Situ 40, V Richardson 38, D Bush 37.
Division 2: W Thompson 39, D Wright 37, M Smith 34.
Approach: J Situ.
Thursday (Jan 17) — Men’s stableford, division 1: C Dean 44, A Kirkpatrick 40, I Murphy 39, J van Helden 39, M Higham 37.
Division 2: W Mortleman 44, J.Aitchison 40, H Johanson 38, J Pittar 37, R Veall 36.
Twos: R Third, A Kirkpatrick, H Johanson.
Approach: W Mortleman.
Te Puia SpringsROBYN Ngatai led a female 1-2-3 in round 3 of the Summer Cup on Sunday.
Ngatai thumped the course 7-up to win from Pauline Summersby (+5) and Aomihi Cook (+4).
The fourth and final round is this Sunday.
SUNDAY — Summer Cup, round 3, par: R Ngatai +7, P Summersby +5, A Cook +4, R Smith sq, M O’Dowd sq, N Truman -1, G Summersby -1.
COMING UP: SUNDAY, Summer Cup, final round, bisque bogey.
WaikohuPERCY Milner and Marg Tuapawa topped the first day of the season club rally competition on Sunday.
Sixteen holes were played, with Milner and Tuapawa compiling 31 points apiece.
SUNDAY — Season club rally, day 1, 16-hole stableford: P Milner 31, M Tuapawa 31, T Brown 30, T Smith 27, K Tamanui 27, T Ruru 27.
COMING UP: SUNDAY, day 2 of season rally
SeniorsGISBORNE Park made it three-from-three annual interclub challenge titles as a record field enjoyed the curtain-raiser to the Gisborne East Coast Veteran Golfers’ Society’s 2019 season.
Fifty-eight vets turned up at Gisborne Park on Tuesday for what has quickly become a popular team stableford duel between Park and Poverty Bay.
Park averaged 36.1 points to the Bay’s 33.1 — a comfortable albeit sticky win in the 30-plus-degree conditions.
The individual score of the day was posted by Patutahi’s Jan Ewart (representing Park in the challenge) — 96-30-66, for 43 points.
The top three men’s honours went the runners-up way. Eighty-five-year-old Arthur Bacon — a member of Poverty Bay for more than 50 years — shot 88-22-66, for 42 points, to win from clubmates Alan Destry and Warwick Thompson, also on 42.
Best of the Park players was Phil Simpson on 41.
Members of other clubs were encouraged to take part and were assigned to either side.
The vets were grateful to Mihi Marino and her Park helpers for providing a fine spread, and to course convener Ray Grace and greenkeeper Pete Tamatea for presenting an immaculate course.
Local players are reminded that nationally it was decided to drop the qualifying age for a veteran from 55 to 50, aligning it with that of vet women.
The GEC society also welcomes any women of the qualifying age interested in joining.
TUESDAY — Gisborne Park v Poverty Bay interclub challenge, individual stableford, men: A Bacon 42, A Destry 42, W Thompson 42, P Simpson 41, S Mohlmann 41, W Donnelly 40, M Hutton 40, A Nairne 40, G Sharp 40, B Cameron 39.
Women: J Ewart 43, A Richardson 41, S Paku 39.
Twos: A Nairne, J Aitchison, S Williams, G Burnside.
COMING UP: TUESDAY, Feb 12, trip to Mahia, departing Poverty Bay Golf Club carpark at 9am, AGM to be held after play; TUESDAY, March 5, Johnny Jackson Plate, Poverty Bay, tee-off from 10am; MONDAY/TUESDAY, March 11-12, BoP v PB Shark Trophy, at Whakatane and Ohope.