A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.
Not this time Covid-19.
Gisborne Thistle AFC's open tournament went ahead on a lockdown-free Electrinet Park course on Sunday.
The 2020 edition was postponed twice last year — the first time due to a poor weather forecast; the second time because of Covid-19 — but there was no stopping a 90-strong field hitting the Park fairways for the 2021 version.
Husband and wife Tuki and Sonya Sweeney had a day to remember.
Tuki became the latest name to go on the Judy O'Rourke memorial trophy for top overall stableford. He joined a list dating back to 2007 courtesy of his 75-8-67, for 41 points.
Sonya's 40 points won the women's stableford on countback from Park clubmate Jean Foot.
Chris Taewa's 37 points was the best of the Thistle-affiliated players and it won him the Morley Cup while Mark Baple topped the Thistle-affiliated non-golfers' section with 39 points.
Collin Jeffrey mixed four birdies with three bogeys to win the men's gross with 1-under 71.
Jo Kerr won the women's gross with 6-over 79.
Soon-to-be Park member James Witika racked up 45 points to win the non-golfers' stableford.
SUNDAY — Gisborne Thistle AFC open tournament, Judy O'Rourke Trophy for best overall stableford: T Sweeney 42.
Morley Cup for best stableford by a former or current Thistle club member: C Taewa 37.
Thistle non-golfers' best overall stableford: M Baple 39.
Non-golfers' overall stableford: J Witika 45.
Men's best gross: C Jeffrey 71.
Women's best gross: J Kerr 79.
Men's stableford: T Leggett 41, W Whangapirita 39, D Gordon 38, J Taylor 38, T Akroyd 37, K Travers 37, R Johnstone 37, G Hill 36, A White 36, P Wellard 36, L Lexmond 36, J Brown 35, D Harrison 35, A Pahina 35, L Hewson 35, D Hall 35, R Foon 35.
Women's stableford: S Sweeney 40, J Foot 40, B Walker 39, B Woods 37, R Taiapa 36, W Morrissey 35, D Webb 34, M Marino 33, J MacKinnon 33, S Johnstone 33, P Johansen 32, J Akuhata-Nickerson 31, L Brown 30, E Ball 30, M Vette 20.
Least putts: K Travers 21.
Long drives: B Morgan (men), E Ball (women).
Approaches: R Foon (men), B Walker (women).
Straightest drives: J Van Helden (men), E Ball (women).
Twos: B Morgan, B Talbot, B Walker, C Simpson, C Taewa, C Jeffrey, P Wellard, C Taylor.
SATURDAY — Men's approach: H Schreiber 43, E Parkin 38.
THURSDAY (Jan 14) — Twilight 9-hole stableford, men: J Taylor from W Carpendale.
Women: T Ford.
Non-golfers: B Bunting (men), M Vette (women).
Twos: D Boyle, D Gregory.
Long drive: A Reedy.
Approach: D Gregory.
WEDNESDAY (Jan 13) — Women's stableford: J Foot 38.
TUESDAY (Jan 12) — Veteran men's stableford: E Parkin 39, L Lexmond 38, C Brown 37, P Koorey 36, R McGann 36, A Lewington 35.
Twos: E Morley.
Pete Stevenson's best 18-hole score for several years won him Sunday's medal competition . . . but only just.
Stevenson shot 90-28-62 to head off Joe Lincoln (83-21-62) on countback, with Mark Watts four strokes back in third.
SUNDAY — Medal: P Stevenson 62, Joe Lincoln 62, M Watts 66, J Sheridan 66, J Hale 67, R Mackey 67.
Twos: M Watts.
Summer Cup women's standings leader Hiria McClutchie has four players in her rear-view mirror heading into the final round this Sunday.
Robyn Ngatai put herself well in the hunt on a hot day of scoring in round 3 on Sunday.
Ngatai won the par competition with a +12 effort, with Pauline Summersby second on countback.
McClutchie managed +4 and goes into the deciding round as the overall women's leader on four points, but only one ahead of Doreen Goldsmith, Iritana Ngarimu and Hazel Miratana.
Peter Harrison heads the men's standings with six points, two clear of Dick Cook.
Ian Sykes won Sunday's round with +9, with Cook second on +5.
SUNDAY — Summer Cup, third round, par competition, women: R Ngatai +12, P Summersby +12, D Goldsmith +11, I Ngarimu +8, J Williams +8, H Miratana +5, H McClutchie +4, G Roberts +2.
Twos: H McClutchie, I Ngarimu.
Men: I Sykes +9, D Cook +5, H Rasmussen +2, J Puha +2, P Ngarimu +2, P Savage +2, T Kupenga +1, J Forrester +1.
Standings after three rounds, women: H McClutchie 4pts, D Goldsmith 3, I Ngarimu 3, H Miratana 3, R Ngatai 3, P Summersby 2.
Men: P Harrison 6pts, D Cook 4, I Sykes 3, T Kupenga 2, W Ngata 1, R Smith 1, H Rasmussen 1.
COMING UP: SUNDAY, Summer Cup, fourth and final round, bisque bogey.
Helen Pomana ventured into sub-80 territory in producing the round of the weekend at the Tahi.
Pomana won the women's net with 79-15-64 — her first score in the 70s since late February of last year.
Glen Hannah took the beer money from the boys with his points blitz in the Friday meat pack 9-hole stableford.
Hannah shot 42 off the stick for 24 points to win the junior division.
SUNDAY — Summer Cup, men's net, senior division: T Green 67, P Johnston 69, S Skudder 69, P Malloy 70, J Neilson 70.
Junior division: R Pardoe 67, S Pittar 69, A Nimmo 69, M Price 70, Whata Brown 71.
Women's net: H Pomana 64.
Twos: T Green.
FRIDAY — Meat pack nine-holes stableford, senior division: J Neilson 21, T Brodie 21, T Green 21, A Blakeman 20, G Brown 19.
Junior division: G Hannah 24, S Robertson 21, I Tietjen 20, C Brown 20, J Foxley 19.
It had been many moons since Ella Wynyard signed for an 82 on her home course . . . until Sunday.
Wynyard posted that score at Tolaga Bay and Patutahi in recent years but before Sunday had to go back to January 2015 on the WHS handicap website to find that score on her home track
Fittingly her latest effort won Wynyard round 2 of the Summer Cup net. Her 82-14-68 was two shots ahead of Kahu Tamanui.
SUNDAY — Summer Cup, net: E Wynyard 68, K Tamanui 70, A Tamanui-Nunn 73, U Chambers 73, V Grace 75, P Milner 75, I Ruru 75.
Twos: Kahu Tamanui.
FRIDAY — Gold card stableford: T Smith 20, U Chambers 18, P Puia 18.
COMING UP: TOMORROW, gold card competition; SUNDAY, Summer Cup.
Electrinet Park took the individual honours but the team glory went to Poverty Bay in their annual vets' interclub clash on Tuesday.
Poverty Bay hosted the city club duel decided by average stableford and scoring was impressive considering the strong winds which made putting difficult, particularly on the 11th green.
The hosts had an average of 33.02 points to Park's 32.54.
Players from other clubs were allowed to take part. Mahia's Tony Steel proved a star ring-in for the Park, winning the individual men's stableford with 44 points.
Hawke's Bay visitor Michelle Walker also became a “Parkie” for the day and won the women's stableford with 41 points. Her 4-over 78 featured four birdies and a triple-bogey 8 on the 12th.
The next GEC vets' event is at Poverty Bay on Tuesday, February 9, teeing off at 10am.
TUESDAY — Gisborne East Coast Veteran Golfers' Society Poverty Bay v Gisborne Park interclub, individual stableford, women: Michelle Walker (Gis Park) 41, J McKinnon (Poverty Bay) 40, J Foot (GP) 38, M Williams (PB) 37, C Carpendale (GP) 35.
Men: A Steel (GP) 44, R Farmer (PB) 42, P Reid (PB) 41, P Rickard (PB) 41, E Parkin (GP) 41, R Grace (GP) 41, M Smith (PB) 39.