CLUB CHAMPS: Zach Rolls and Tessa McDonald are Poverty Bay club champions for 2020. Teenager Rolls won the intermediate men’s title with a 3 and 2 win over Cliff Poole — McDonald’s grandfather — in their 36-hole matchplay final on Monday. Hawke’s Bay-Poverty Bay representative McDonald also had a Monday final, comfortably beating Jan Utting on the 24th hole of the senior women’s final. It was a fourth Poverty Bay senior club championship title for McDonald. Picture supplied
SALLY Spence is the 2020 intermediate women’s club champion after an exhausting duel with Viv Bell in the matchplay final yesterday.
The pair shook hands on the 35th hole of the 36-hole final, Spence adding it to her 2017 intermediate title and denying Bell (2014, 2016) a third.
The junior women’s 27-hole final also proved a close affair.
Vonnie Fletcher and Ann Ward were all-square at the 18-hole break but Fletcher edged ahead over the ensuing nine to collect her first club championship honour 2 and 1.
The senior final was held on Monday and, as expected, Tessa McDonald was in a class of her own.
The Hawke’s Bay-Poverty Bay representative, who plays off a 1.0 WHS handicap index, outgunned three-time senior winner and 15.8 handicapper Jan Utting on the 24th hole to add 2020 to her 2016, 2017 and 2018 wins.
McDonald had six birdies in the opening 18.
Last year’s senior champion Marg Colebourne won the 9-holers’ final, beating Sandy Armstrong.
Zac Rolls’ rising career passed another milestone with victory in the intermediate men’s club championship on Monday.
Teenager Rolls outgunned Cliff Poole — 63 years his senior — 3 and 2 in the 36-hole matchplay final.
The pair were all-square at the halfway stage but Rolls took a decisive 3-up lead through the 27th.
The young left-hander is also in the hunt for the intermediate title at Electrinet Park.
Does Paul Rickard have a twin brother who’s a decent golfer?
That was among the rumours flying around the 19th after Sunday School kaiwhakahaere Paul Rickard announced the return of “Rick” the golfer.
Having failed to break 90 in 27 of his past 30 rounds, Rickard produced a jaw-dropping 81-16-65, for 43 points, to win the division 2 men’s stableford.
Allan White’s 74-8-66, for 42 points, was his lowest round of the
Covid-19-interrupted year and won him the division 1 stableford.
F Allen 37, R Willock 37.
9-holers’ stableford: R Dymock 22.
Vonnie Fletcher def Rosie Spence, Ann Ward def Pip Dymock
Fletcher def Ward on the 26th.
Dymock def Spence.
Viv Bell def Debbie Kirkpatrick, Sally Spence def Mary Allan.
Spence def Bell on the 35th.
Allan def Kirkpatrick.
Tessa McDonald def Jan Utting on the 24th.
Gay Young def Miggles Shanks.
Marg Colebourne def Sandy Armstrong.
Judy Ngarimu def Jenny Alderson.
S Spence.
J Steele 40.
A White 42, T Donovan 38, J Jenner 38, B Morrissey 36, B Colbert 36.
P Rickard 43, G Hawea 38, R Johnstone 36, L Hewson 36.
K Travers, D Twigley, K Daniels, S Andreassen, A White.
S Andreassen.
J Situ 35, A Higham 34, W Brown 33.
M Whitehead 38, D Bush 37, B Read 36, C Simpson 35, H van Tongeren 35.
W Brown.
D Bush.
N Mackie +1, P Clayton +1, C Poole 1, M Higham +1, S Harbottle +1, J Van Helden +1, J Pittar sq, D Bush sq.
N Richardson, A White, A Kirkpatrick, T Donovan.
D Bush.
REIGNING champions Jo Kerr and Di Webb are a win away from staying on their women’s club champion thrones.
Both are into finals to be held this Saturday, with Kerr taking on Blanche Walker for the senior honours and Webb facing Kath Papuni in a repeat of the 2019 junior final.
Tracey Ford and Jean Foot will contest the intermediate final.
If Steve Rolls needs inspiration to go all the way in the junior men’s club championships, he need only watch his son.
He and son Zach moved into the quarterfinals of their respective divisions on Sunday, and a couple of days later Steve was on hand as Zach completed part one of a potential intermediate championship double.
Having disposed of John Collier in his round 1 match at the Park, Rolls shifted golf courses to win the intermediate final at Poverty Bay on Monday — beating Cliff Poole in the 36-hole final.
Rolls senior eliminated Charlie Uili in his round 1 match to set up a quarterfinal clash with top qualifier Dave Harrison.
Others to move into the top eight were Ray Grace, Pete Tamatea, Glyn Williams, Barry Cox, Neal Jones and Alan Williams (Glyn’s son), who got through with a 19th-hole win over Tony Leggett.
Zach has a tough next-up opponent in intermediate second seed Ben Cameron while top qualifier Ray Walford locks clubs with Glen McKinnon.
Others in the intermediate quarters are Phil Nepia, Steve Phillips, defending champion Danny Boyle and Anthony Pahina.
Only one round 1 match was played in the nine-man senior division. Pete Stewart, after being 2-up with two holes to play against Tom Teneti, sneaked over the line on the 19th.
Stewart’s reward is a quarterfinal with top seed Anaru Reedy.
“I’ve told Ru (Anaru) he can’t practice during the week to give me a chance.”
R Moore 77, P Wellard net 79
W Morrissey 31.
J Foot, W Morrissey, A Reedy, D Harrison.
R Moore 35.
R Taiapa 31on c/b.
B Walker.
G Williams 37, R Moore 37, A Reedy 36, P Hogan 35, R Taiapa 34, W Brown 34, B Cox 33.
A Reedy, C Brown, R Moore.
J Kerr v B Walker.
T Ford v J Foot.
K Papuni v D Webb.
R Moore v R Taylor A Reedy v P Stewart, S Peneha v T Reynolds. R Walford v G McKinnon, P Nepia v S Phillips. B Cameron v Z Rolls, D Boyle v A Pahina. D Harrison v S Rolls, R Grace v P Tamatea. G Willams v B Cox, N Jones v A Williams.
The senior quarterfinal between B Reynolds and Z Boyle is to be played on Saturday.
LIL Morgan and Roger Bremner topped their field in Sunday competitions.
Morgan was dominant in the women’s Iseki stableford. Her 38 points was six ahead of Maraea Wesche (32), with Ali Wesche (31) third on countback from Helen Billington.
Thirty-five points was good enough for Bremner to win the men’s stableford from Kelvin Ellison, Tom Hema and Ian Parker (all on 34), followed by Duncan Bremner (33).
Te Puia Springs
IRITANA Ngarimu won the women’s stableford and her intermediate women’s club championship semifinal simultaneously on Sunday.
Ngarimu beat Robyn Ngatai to book a final date with Hazel Miratana, who eliminated Pauline Summersby.
The final and the junior women’s final between Doreen Goldsmith and Hiria McClutchie are on Sunday.
I Ngarimu 36, L Holmberg 35, H Miratana 34, P Summersby 32, D Goldsmith 32, H McClutchie 32.
N Dewes 36, J Forrester 35, G Summersby 35, M Higham 33, N Truman 33, T Kupenga 31, K Waitoa 31, J Miratana 30.
P Summersby, L Holmberg 2, N Dewes.
P Summersby, D Goldsmith.
THE king ain’t dead . . . yet.
But Hukanui Brown will be wary of the last man standing in his way of a successful defence of the senior men’s club championship.
Brown beat Chris Beattie 4 and 3 in Sunday’s semifinals to set up a 36-hole matchplay final against the ever-dangerous Shayde Skudder, who ousted top qualifier Dwayne Russell 2 and 1.
Their battle is just one of many as the course becomes a war zone for finals day on Sunday.
Selwyn Pohatu and Tony Green — who knocked out defending champion Jo Priestley on the 19th — square off for the intermediate men’s title; defending champ Mike de Luze faces Jamie Brodie in the junior men’s final; and Sai Eder and Michael Broad are the endeavour finalists.
Denise Johnston and Jandy Winiata will duel for senior women’s supremacy while Andrea Haisman and Jan Ewart contest the junior women’s final.
H Brown 69, T Green 70, C Beattie 73, G Brown 74, J Devery 77.
J Priestley 68, S Eder 70, G Watson 70, B McKenzie 70, J Neilson 71.
S Robertson 76, A Haisman 76.
C Parker, J Priestley.
B Cameron 20, C Beattie 19, A Blakeman 19, P Hokianga 18, J Priestley 18.
P Briant 18, P Summersby 17, M Broad 17, D Skudder 16, D Quinn 16.
BRUCE Yates claimed one of the final berths in the senior men’s club championships on Sunday.
Yates defeated Tere Lincoln and will face the winner of the semi between Taine Lincoln and defending champion Neil Hansen.
D Maitai 66, B Yates 69, T Higgs 69, P Stevenson 73.
D Maitai 28,T Higgs 28, M Watts 30, B Yates 30.
Joel Lincoln, T Higgs.
THE Tahunga open closing day is on Sunday, September 13. It will comprise a combined mixed pairs stableford (arrange your own pair) and a men’s gross, net and stableford section.
A cup of tea/coffee at 10.30am will be followed by shotgun tee-off from 11am.
Dinner will follow play.
IKE Ruru clinched the junior men’s club championship title with a 19th-hole win over Uma Chambers in the matchplay final on Sunday.
Ella Wynyard booked her place in the women’s handicap singles final with a 3 and 2 win over Audrey Tamanui-Nunn.
I Ruru 31, U Chambers 30, K Tamanui 28.
A Tamanui-Nunn 25, E Wynyard 25.
TWO duos are tied at the top after round 1 of the Gisborne East Coast Veteran Golfers’ Society Croskery Tankard.
Don McFadyen and Dave Mettrick racked up 47 points in the four-ball best-ball stableford — an effort equalled by Roger Murphy and Stefan Andreassen.
Dallas Atkins and John Aitchison are sitting third on 45.