GOLF ROUNDUP

Colin Christie knows about going close in a men’s shootout final.

He’s been second three times in the past.

“Peter Hatwell beat me twice and I was second to Kim Travers one year,” Christie said after clearing the final hurdle in the 2022 Sean Shivnan Pharmacy men’s 19-hole shootout final on Sunday.

Christie, chairman of the Poverty Bay Golf Club board, eliminated head greenkeeper William Brown on the 18th hole to seal his first shootout honour.

Senior men’s club champion and Poverty Bay Open champion William Brown only made the field after winning a pre-final chip-off.

That was the break he needed and he almost took full advantage of it.

Cliff Poole was a perfect example of a week being a long time in this game.

From the dizzying heights of being top man in the Primo Cup final the previous week, Poole plummeted to the ground like Wile E. Coyote in the Road Runner Show.

He exited on the first hole and was followed by top qualifier Andrew Putnam, who made a Michelin 3-star meal of the par-3 second with an eight-net-seven.

The procession continued, peppered with several chip-offs for players who ended with the equal-worst net.

Glenn Morley, the second-lowest handicapper in the field, clearly enjoys hanging from cliffs by his nails. He was involved in five of them, finally losing his grip on the 16th in a chip-off with Brown.

Richard Foon got the chance to check on the kumara patch he planted behind the 17th tee. Happy with what he saw, he fell by the wayside at the end of the hole after a chip-off with Brown.

Brown, off a +1 handicap, crushed a drive down the 18th to within a decent throw of the green while Christie, off 15 and getting a shot on the hole, was about 50m short for two.

A member of the club for about 45 years, Christie showed mettle under pressure and put his third to about 3½ feet of the hole.

Brown’s approach was impressive — 8-foot above the hole to the right. But his birdie attempt missed and Christie calmly slotted his putt for par and victory.

Order of elimination — Cliff Poole (No.1); Andrew Putnam (No.2); Peter Humphreys (No.3); Jak Rowe (No.4); Vance Richardson (No.5); Tene Goldsmith (No.6); Mark Jefferson (No.7); Andy Abrahams (No.8); Gray Clapham (No.9); Brad Morgan (No.10); Carl Carmody (No.11); Stu Harbottle (No.12); Darryn White (No.13); Andy Hayward (No.14); Bil Simpson (No.15); Glenn Morley (No.16); Richard Foon (No.17); William Brown (No.18).

■ VICKI Fraser added another first to her success list on Sunday — her first women’s shootout title.

Two months after claiming a career-first women’s club championship title (junior division), Fraser sponged up the immense pressure that comes with the annual Kevin Hollis Glass-sponsored shootout to top the 18-women field in Sunday’s final.

Shootout is a cruel beast — a hole-by-hole net elimination rollercoaster that has no respect for history or seedings.

Pen Wanklyn will vouch for that. She went in as the defending champion. She went out on the first hole.

From there, the dominoes fell in no particular pattern, no rhyme or reason, until just two remained on the 18th tee — Fraser and the in-form Teresa Lewis.

Fraser had the luxury of getting two shots off the card on the hole but didn't need it as Lewis got into a spot of bother in the right-hand “donga” which proved her downfall.

Steady as she goes golf got the job done for Fraser over the course of the shootout and she was a popular victor.

Order of elimination (the second hole was not played): Pen Wanklyn (No.1); Sue Kemp (No.3); Lynne Holmberg (No.4); Mary Allan (No.5); Leigh Fletcher (No.6); Birgitt Whyte (No.7); Kirsty Shaw (No.8); Jan Steele (No.9); Vonnie Fletcher (No.10); Gay Young (No.11); Peri Gayford (No.12); Odette Thompson (No.13); Marg Lane (No.14); Marg Colebourne (No.15); Jan Utting (No.16); Debbie Kirkpatrick (No.17); Teresa Lewis (No.18).

TUESDAY — Veterans’ stableford: B Morrissey 37, F Ball 36, C Dean 36, W Thompson 35, P Reid 35.

Approach: F Ball.

Twos: F Ball.

SUNDAY — Men’s stableford, division 1: J Van Helden 39, S Andreassen 38, R Gibson 36, N Richardson 36.

Division 2: L Hewson 39, K Daniels 38, S Muncaster 38, B Talbot 37, R Chalmers 36, P Goodwin 36.

Twos: N Richardson, R Chalmers.

Approach: R Chalmers.

Saturday — Men’s stableford, division 1: A Kirkpatrick 38, J Van Helden 37, T Goldsmith 36.

Division 2: C Christie 41, S Francks 37, P Goodwin 37, D Bush 36, C Poole 36.

Twos: C Christie, J Van Helden, A Kirkpatrick.

Approach: J Van Helden.

Thursday (Nov 10) — Men’s stableford: A Kirkpatrick 38, M Thomas 37, N Mackie 35.

Approach: A White.

COMING UP: SUNDAY, Dec 11, Taste One/First Light Frozen Christmas Open The Hams tournament, men’s and women’s stableford, assemble at 9am for 9,30am shotgun start, enter at pro shop.

There was a sense of destiny to Jean Foot chalking up another women’s shootout title on Saturday.

Before teeing off, the players drew names for a sweepstake run by Foot.

She was the last to choose. The last name in the hat was her own.

Foot went on to win what was reduced to a 12-woman field due to unavailabilities and one player suffering a knee injury while preparing to go to the course — and ending up in hospital.

The shootout itself featured some dramatic moments including a mass putt-off involving all the field on the ninth hole after Sue Maisey was the first to be knocked out (on the seventh hole), followed by Di Webb.

Two club stalwarts were the last two in the hunt — senior club champion supremo Karen Hay and reigning intermediate champ Foot.

The pair exchanged net pars on the last, meaning a putt-off was required to decide it.

That resulted in not one, not two, but three measurements by different people as the pair’s efforts were near identical.

Foot was judged the winner by a couple of centimetres although she later said she would have been happy to have had another putt-off.

Foot has won the shootout “several time before” and once again thoroughly enjoyed herself.

“It was a good day.”

Order of elimination (started on the seventh hole): Sue Maisey (No.7); Di Webb (No.8); Carney Pipi (No.9); Jacque Nickerson (No.10); Jo Kerr (No.11); Kathy Papuni (No.12); Rebecca Walford (No.13); Kino White (No.14); Shirley Paku (No.15); Mihi Marino (No.16); Pat Johansen (No.17); Karen Hay (No.18).

■ IAN Loffler and Craig Christophers have played Poverty Bay club and representative cricket together over several years.

On Sunday they were on opposite sides to decide the 2022 Power Connections men’s shootout champion. And Loffler came out on top . . . by a couple of inches.

Such was the tightness of this year’s shootout — in which 19 men tee off the first hole and one player is ejected each hole — a putt-off on the 18th was a fitting climax.

Both men made bogeys on the 18th and went into a putt-off from what Loffler estimated to be about 15-feet.

Loffler putted first and left his ball about six inches short; Christophers went next and finished eight inches away.

“It was a bit unreal for me,” said Loffler, who only got his first official handicap in December of last year and went on to win the junior men’s club championship in his first full season.

“I didn’t expect to get through all the holes . . . it was pretty cool going against Craig (on the last) . . . we’ve played a lot of cricket together.”

Loffler is among a crew of players who joined Park last year and he couldn’t speak highly enough of the club members.

“They have been really welcoming.”

Tony Leggett had the ignominy of being the first to go, courtesy of a lost ball.

Order of elimination: Tony Leggett (No.1); Steve Phillips (No.2); Zane Boyle (No.3); Mason Emery (No.4); Josh Hayes (No.5); Tom Reynolds (No.6); Matt Downie (No.7); Darrel Gregory (No.8); Glen McKinnon (No.9); James Witika (No.10); Mike Christophers (No.11); Jason Devery (No.12); Dave Harrison (No.13); Anaru Reedy (No.14); Peter Stewart (No.15); Anthony Pahina (No.16); Chris Fox (No.17); Craig Christophers (No.18).

COMING UP: SATURDAY, Mitchell Cup mixed foursomes, report at 9am for 9.30am tee-off; SUNDAY, Dec 4, MTF Finance Gisborne Park Xmas Tournament, rolling start off No.1 tee from 7.45am to 11am, men’s and women’s and 9-holers’ divisions, gross, net and stableford, entry includes lunch, contact club at 867-9849 or Tom Reynolds 021-251-6081; SATURDAY, Nov 26, Hear4U open tournament.

Val Grace produced the round of Sunday club golf.

Grace won the women’s stableford with 95-26-69, for 39 points, equalling her low round of the year.

Sunday — Women’s stableford: V Grace 39, E Wynyard 33.

Men’s stableford: K Tamanui 35, R Reeves 34, P Milner 31.

COMING UP: SUNDAY, club competition.

Andrew Higham racked up his 16th senior men’s club championship crown at the weekend but needed all 36 holes to get the job done.

Thomas Donovan, as he did in last year’s 37-hole final against William Brown, refused to go away.

“It was back and forth the whole day,” said Donovan, who needed to make birdie on the 36th to force extra holes and thought he had his putt only for the ball “to decide to go the other way”.

Crucial putts were the difference, Donovan said.

“Andy made them. I didn’t.”

Higham pointed out that while he had won plenty of senior crowns, he had a long way to go to reach Poverty Bay-East Coast legend the late Peter Rouse (somewhere in the vicinity of 30).

SUNDAY — Men’s stableford: I Logan 41, H Rasmussen 36, D Goldsmith 36.

Eagle on 17th: D Goldsmith.

Senior men’s club championship final: Andrew Higham def Thomas Donovan on the 36th.

COMING UP: SATURDAY, helicopter fundraising day; SUNDAY, AGM.

BJ Sidney blew the field away in the club stableford on Sunday.

Sidney fired 81-22-59, for 45 points, with Murray Yates a distant second on 29.

Tee-off for this Sunday is 11am, followed by the club’s annual prizegiving.

SUNDAY — Stableford: BJ Sidney 45, M Yates 39, J Hale 36.

Approach: B Yates.

Twos: B Yates.

Hamish Harris (66), Rocky Pardoe (67) and Helen Humble (71) were the net competition winners on Sunday.

Tom Hindmarsh had twos on the sixth and 15th holes.

SUNDAY — Men’s net, senior division: H Harris 78-12-66, D Pohatu 73-6-67, J Neilson 83-13-70.

Junior division: R Pardoe 81-14-67, P Summersby 82-15-67, A Nimmo 82-14-68.

Women’s net: H Humble 105-34-71, D Johnston 85-13-72.

Twos: T Hindmarsh 2, D Pohatu, C Beattie.

If you have a story, tournament to promote or results you wish to have printed, contact The Gisborne Herald at 869-0633 or email sports@gisborneherald.co.nz