A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.
Poverty Bay
Mark Karalus and Phil Mickelson share two things in common.
Both are left-handers.
Both have shot sub-60 — albeit Mickelson’s was off the stick (59 in winning the Grand Slam of Golf at Poipu Beach, Hawaii, in November 2004) while Karalus did it off handicap (78-21-57 in winning the Bull Cup teams’ event at Awapuni Links, Gisborne, in February 2019).
Phil took home US$400,000 for his efforts; Karalus $200 for achieving the “Sunday School” jackpot of scoring two more stableford points on every hole.
Karalus’s 78 was a personal best score and last Sunday — nearly four years and 10 months later — he had his lowest round since that famous day.
Karalus signed for 82-22-60, for 48 stableford points, at the Taste One/First Light Frozen Christmas tournament to win the junior men’s division.
Playing partner Jimmy Situ was a flabbergasted eye witness as Karalus had seven pars in the first nine holes after they started on the 18th for a haul of 26 points.
As a result of his blitz, Karalus‘s handicap index of 21.6 was chopped to 18.8 and while he could be a popular selection in the Sunday School’s drawn pairs Christmas tournament on Sunday, he might want to wear ear plugs on the 19th if he emulates last Sunday’s performance.
It was easily the round of the day on a short course which proved conducive to seasonally warm scoring — particularly in the women’s division.
Tolaga Bay’s Anthea Lincoln was the stand-out. Her 102-35-67 gave her 44 points and the $126 first-placed voucher.
Electrinet Park’s Linda Brown didn’t let an 11 on the 12th hole faze her. She was second with 108-39-69, for 43, followed by Poverty Bay’s Debbie Kirkpatrick, Patutahi’s Charlie Holland and the Bay’s Anne Gemmell all on 42.
Brent Colbert won the division 1 men’s stableford with 79-10-69, for 40, while Ross “Ron Gobson” Gibson won division 2 with 79-12-67, for 41.
Kim Travers had a productive weekend. He won the division 2 men’s stableford with 40 points on Saturday and picked up a prize in the Christmas tournament.
SUNDAY — Taste One/First Light Frozen Christmas Open, stableford, women’s division: A Lincoln 44, L Brown 43, D Kirkpatrick 42, C Holland 42, A Gemmell 42, K Torrez 41, M Lane 40, J Beattie 40, O Thompson 39 on c/b.
Senior men: B Colbert 40, P Hakiwai 39, C Christophers 38, I Loffler 37, S Jeune 37, M Henwood 37, Wade Wesche 36, J Situ 36, D White 36, E Brown jr 34, R Witters 34.
Intermediate men: R Gibson 41, C Taewa 40, B Brown 40, Q Peneha 39, C Simpson 39, D Price 38, D Bush 38, T Brodie jr 38, R Chalmers 38, T Green 38, S Tiopira 37.
Junior men: M Karalus 48, M Smith 42, J Phillips 42, B Rogers 41, R Ladd 41, H Tupara 41, J Ibbetson 40, L Bates 39, W Stevens 38, K Travers 37, A Nimmo 37 on c/b.
Twos: S Jeune, N Richardson, D Bullivant, M Christophers, K Summersby, B Brown, R Gibson, J Partington.
SATURDAY — Men’s stableford, division 1: S Andreassen 37, V Richardson 36.
Division 2: K Travers 40, M Thomas 37, P Butler 36.
THURSDAY (Dec 7) — Men’s stableford, division 1: G Brown 40, G Morley 37.
Division 2: D Bush 39, M Dodgshun 37.
Twos: B Colbert, I Murphy.
Approach: J Van Helden.
Patutahi
Garth Tattersfield was a clearcut winner of the men’s net on Sunday.
His 85-19-66 was three ahead of Butch McKenzie and Dave Skudder.
Places are filling fast for the club’s Enterprise Motor Group Xmas Hams tournament on Saturday.
SUNDAY — Men’s net: G Tattersfield 66, B McKenzie 69, D Skudder 69, L Anania 71.
Women’s net: S Gray 72.
Twos: L Anania, R Hindmarsh, S Watson.
FRIDAY — Meat pack 9-hole stableford, senior division: G Brown 19, T Brodie 19, H Harris 17, T Green 17, G Hawea 17.
Junior division: I Tietjen 22, T Coutts 20, C Harris 20, G Maude 19, B Toa 18.
Te Puia Hot Springs
Youth is often inspired by experience.
But for Peter Ngarimu, it could well be the reverse.
The popular Te Puia member has been in good form since seeing his 13-year-old Wellington grandnephew Apirana Ngarimu become the youngest winner of the East Coast Open three weeks ago.
That continued on both days of last weekend,
Peter won the men’s stableford with 37 points at the Cooks Couriers Christmas tournament on Saturday and the following day broke 80 for the first time since July 2022 in winning the men’s stableford with 79-19-60, for 43 points.
Tolaga Bay’s Murray Yates shot 75 to take the men’s gross honours and Eruera West’s 62 won the net at the Christmas tournament.
Another Tolaga Bay member, Anthea Lincoln, started what would turn out to be a Christmas tourney victory double with a women’s net-winning 98-27-71. She headed to Gisborne the next day to win the women’s section at Poverty Bay’s Christmas equivalent.
Springs women were to the fore in the net and gross on Saturday. Hiria McClutchie topped the gross with 92 and Iritana Ngarimu the stableford with 32.
SUNDAY — Women’s stableford: P Summersby 39, I Ngarimu: 33, H McClutchie 32.
Men’s stableford: P Ngarimu 43, G Summersby 41, B Clark 39.
Twos: P Ngarimu.
SATURDAY — Cooks Couriers Christmas tournament, women’s gross: H McClutchie 92.
Women’s net: A Lincoln 71.
Women’s stableford: I Ngarimu 32 from V Grace, M Tuapawa, P Summersby, E Wynyard, R Ngatai, D Pearson, A Cook.
Men’s gross: M Yates 75
Men’s net: E West 62.
Men’s stableford: P Ngarimu 37 from P Harrison, B Clarke, K Lewis, J Forrester, I Logan, R Walker, S Yamasaki, G Summersby, G McLean, B Yates.
Women’s approach: V Grace.
Women’s long drive: H McClutchie.
Men’s approach: I Logan.
Men’s long drive: D Goldsmith.
Waikohu
One solid round earned Larry Green triple glory on Sunday.
Green’s 81-12-69 won the men’s gross, net and stableford.
The hottest player on the course, however, was Penny Rutene, who won the women’s stableford with 45 points and the net with 108-45-63.
SUNDAY — Men’s gross: L Green 81, K Ruru 82.
Men’s net: L Green 69, T Ritchie 70.
Men’s stableford: L Green 37, A Coker 36.
Women’s gross: V Grace 91, C Te Rito 99.
Women’s net: P Rutene 63, A Reeves 66.
Women’s stableford: P Rutene 45, A Reeves 42.
COMING UP: SUNDAY, Guys v Dolls end-of-year event, prizegiving and shared tea to follow, each player to bring a gift wrapped in newpaper.
Electrinet Park
Kyle Tupara has only been playing serious golf since September and he’s already banging it past his dad Heath, including nearly driving the green on the par-4 10th hole at Poverty Bay on Sunday.
Heath remains the better golfer but it only seems a matter of time.
Kyle won the Gordons Pharmacy twilight stableford last Thursday with 22 points.
Kino White was second on 20.
TUESDAY — Veterans’ stableford: K White 39, P Koorey 36, J White 34.
WEDNESDAY — Women’s teams’ competition: K White/L Brown/T Aramakutu from J Foot/ D Webb/P Shaw.
THURSDAY — Gordons Pharmacy twilight stableford: K Tupara 22, K White 20.
Non-golfers’ section: I Fox.
Men’s long drive: I Loffler.
Women’s long drive: K Hay,
Approach: L Hunt.
Birdie board: W Muir, W Carpendale, S Brown.
Monkey on the back: R Scott.
COMING UP: TUESDAY, Dec 19, Park veterans’ Christmas, 10am tee-off.
Tolaga Bay
Murray Yates carried his gross-winning form from Te Puia Hot Springs’ Christmas tournament on Saturday into Sunday’s club competition.
Yates won with 78-15-63, for 41 points, in a round that included the jackpot of twos on the eighth and 15th holes.
SUNDAY — Stableford: M Yates 41, M Watts 40, B Yates 39.
Twos: M Yates 2.
Jackpot: M Yates.
Approach: G McLean.
COMING UP: SATURDAY, Enterprise Motor Group Xmas Hams Open Tournament, 8am and 12 noon tee-off times, men’s and women’s divisions, contact George Brown 027-370-9869 or horiboy1@xtra.co.nz
māhia
Mahia’s annual New Year tournament is on Wednesday, January 3.
Tee-off times are 7.45am and 11.45am and the format is stableford in men’s, women’s and non-golfers’ sections.
Entry includes a meal and twos. Inquiries to Maraea at
027-229-2342.