Golf Roundup

Golf-ball right in the hole!

Poverty BayTHE highlights were many for the 80 players who strode the fairways, trudged through the rough, flew high on birdies and drowned sorrows on the 19th during the Emerre and Hathaway Poverty Bay men’s open. From Tony Akroyd’s three twos in the one round to Gray Clapham’s eagle-2 on the ninth to 41-handicapper’s Sean Shivnan’s birdie-2 — a small but deserved reward for battling through 249 shots in qualifying and having to play off the minimum handicap of 24 in matchplay.

From the player who plonked a bottle of duty-free whiskey on the table after a series of air shots in qualifying to Andrew Higham lifting the Keiha Cup as Poverty Bay Open champion for the second time, while being the envy of many a woman who have to pay hairdressers to produce curls of Higham’s natural quality.

Highest praise must go to the division winners, who fought their way through 36 holes of qualifying, then emerged triumphant after four rounds of matchplay — Higham (first 16, a member of Te Puia Springs and Poverty Bay), Torben Landl (second 16, Taupo), Gray Clapham (third 16, PB), Andy Hayward (fourth 16, PB) and Tony Thorpe (fifth 16, Tai Tapu).

SUNDAY — Men’s net: A Reedy 73, R Morley 74, B Morgan 76, G Morley 76, D Wright 79.

Division 2: B Bell 64, C Simpson 72, R Young 75, S Liley 77.

SATURDAY — Emerre and Hathaway Poverty Bay men’s open, championship 16, overall winner (Keiha Cup): Andrew Higham (Te Puia Springs) from Stefan Andreassen (Poverty Bay).

Consolation: Peter Kerekere (PB) from Jayden Bright (Gisborne Park).

Flight 1: Waka Donnelly (Napier) from George Brown (PB).

Second 16, overall winner (Barrington Millar Cup): Torben Landl (Taupo) from Neil Mackie (PB).

Consolation: Craig Rock (Nap) from Mike Johansson (Titirangi).

Flight 1: Glenn Morley (PB).

Flight 2: Wynne MacLellan (PB).

Third 16, overall winner: Gray Clapham (PB) from Kaleb Tawera (Mareinui).

Consolation: Frank Ball (PB) from Duncan Crisp (Te Puke).

Flight 1: Mark Thomson (Royal Wellington).

Flight 2: James McGregor (PB).

Fourth 16: Andy Hayward (PB) from Dave Pirimona (PB).

Consolation: Colin Christie (PB) from Dave Mettrick (PB).

Flight 1: Mark Thomas (PB).

Flight 2: Anthony Pahina (PB).

Fifth 16, overall winner: Tony Thorpe (PB) from Ewan Atherton (PB).

Consolation: Richard Foon (PB) from Andrew James (Akarana).

Flight 1: Michael Parsons (Hastings).

Flight 2: Colin Thornton (Sherwood Park).

Qualifying, 36-hole gross (Scott Plate): Anaru Reedy (PB) 146 from Peter Kerekere (PB) 149.

36-hole net: Matt Champness (Mt Maunganui) 137 from Paul Mullooly (PB) 138.

Long drives: Peter Kerekere (0-14), Gray Clapham (15+).

Approaches: Mark Thomas (on 2), Gray Clapham (on 6), Brian Kane (on 11).

Twos: T Akroyd 3, M Champness 3, G Clapham 2, P Clayton 2, J Wyllie 2, C Dean 2, S Andreassen 2, B Kane 2, M Campbell 2, D Pirimona, M Thomas, R Montford, T Donovan, W Donnelly, S Shivnan, M Norman, Glen Kane, Torben Landl, P Kerekere, J Bright, A Higham.

Wednesday haggle, gross: A Kirkpatrick.

Stableford: W Thompson 41, B Mathews 40, M Browning 40.

Two: T Goldsmith.

WaikohuPERCY Milner topped an 11-strong field to win Waikohu’s shootout title on Sunday. Milner was the last person standing, eliminating his uncle Kahu Tamanui on the 18th. The final started on the ninth hole and Marg Tuapawa was first to go after a putt-off. Justin Baty went on 10, another putt-off on 11 saw Tama Brown exit and DJ Baty’s hopes ended when he went out of bounds on 12.

Uma Chambers three-putted to depart on 13 and he was followed by Ike Ruru on 14. Valerie Grace’s lake-finding tee shot on 15 brought the curtain down on her day. All four players remaining had a putt-off on 16 and Ella Wynyard’s effort finished furthest away. She took some consolation from the honour of being the woman golfer who lasted the longest.

Larry Green could manage only one stableford point on 17 and was subsequently shown the door. That left Milner and Tamanui, the former’s two points on 18 good enough to clinch the shootout crown.

COMING UP: Sunday, Baty Memorial Cup drawn mixed pairs.

Gisborne ParkA 10 stands out on her card but it was a mere setback for Francie Hutton in the club stableford on Saturday. Hutton won the women’s competition with 44 points. Her 104-37-67 featured a 10 on the 11th but she more than made up for it on the other 17 holes. Barry Cox racked up a whopping 24 points to win the nine-hole stableford on Friday.

Other winners over last week were Geoff Sharp (38 points) on Sunday, Freida Brown (net 71) on Wednesday and Ray Walford (42 points) on Tuesday.

SATURDAY — Men’s stableford: G Sharp 38, H Schreiber 37.

Women’s stableford: F Hutton 44.

Two: R Walford.

FRIDAY — Nine-hole stableford: B Cox 24 from Z Rolls.

Twos: B Cox, T File.

WEDNESDAY (Oct 4) — Women’s net: F Brown 102-31-71.

Drawn two: T Ford.

TUESDAY (Oct 3) — Veteran men’s stableford: R Walford 42, C Brown 39, P Mitchell 39, A Nairne 38, P Koorey 38, C Palmer 37, B Cox 37.

Twos: A Nairne.

COMING UP: TOMORROW, affiliated golf club members’ nine-hole tournament, 12 noon to 2pm; SUNDAY, Oct 22, RSA tournament, start sheet at Gisborne Park office.

MahiaTHE aces shootout final was held in light drizzle at the weekend. Wayne Wesche won the men’s title and Alison Maru was the women’s champion.

The Fiordland Lobster Company and Mainfreight men’s open tournament is at Mahia over the weekend. There is a nine-hole haggle TOMORROW from 12 noon to 3.30pm. The draw for SATURDAY is (five-minute intervals) — No.1 tee, 7.30am: P Smyth, S Chatfield, M Ferguson, A Steel; D Mettrick, D Arnott, G Rothwell, T Hema; N McGregor, P O’Connor, L Puhipuhi, R Shove; R Pryde, B Howe, T Goldsmith, G Pitman; David Green, W Morrow, H Bremner, C Wesche; M Bremner, Wade Wesche, G Clapham.

No.6 tee, 7.30am: J Aitchison, B Maher, A Hayward, C Taurima; D Atkins, D Oliver, M Rosacker; K Field, P Harting, C Beattie, D Read; J McRoberts, M Birrell, Ed Sherrif, L Kerr; N Amoamo, Wayne Wesche, S Bremner, J Geary; D Bremner, Kara Solomon, P Jelbert, B Fraser.

No.1 tee, 11.45am: T Green, L Gunther, S Fisher, C Martin; G Watson, B Crowley, L Collier, N Sutherland; B Morrissey, W Thompson, B Cullen, C Waerea; S Jury, C Edwards, J March, G McKinnon; A Patterson, M Cousins, L Mackie, D Owen; G Hornblow, P Bayly, M Bird, W Paki; R Aird, J Charles, K Solomon, D Carroll; T Hinton, B McEachen, A Cassidy, B Eaglesome.

No 6 tee, 11.45am: C Brown, A White, B Sail, B.Murphy; R Owen, T Whitehouse, R Te Kanawa, J Ash; A Ruawai, P Bremner, R Horsfield, D Harrison; R Nichol, R Foon, F Daley, A McIntyre; A Williams, L Foster, R Hamblyn, G Steenson; M Stevens, W Sheldon, I Gemmell, J Humphreys; A Flint, T Bird, R Grace, H Tahuri; M Lunny, J Wilson, N Solomon.

Tolaga BayFATHER and daughter Mark and Doreen Watts collected two pieces of silverware on Sunday. The Watts won the Bon Irving Rosebowl 27-hole pairs net with 89 and the Captain’s Trophy mixed pairs four-ball best-ball stableford with 44 points.

SUNDAY — Captain’s Trophy mixed pairs four-ball best-ball stableford: M and D Watts 44, Tere Lincoln/S Devery 43, M Grant/H Elkington 38.

Bon Irving Rosebowl pairs 27-hole net: M Watts/D Watts 89, Tere Lincoln/S Devery 94, D Maitai/G Watts 97.

Men’s stableford: R Pomana 40, T Higgs 38, J Crawford 33.

Twos: T Higgs, R Pomana.

COMING UP: SUNDAY, club stableford.

Te Puia SpringsCOMING UP: SUNDAY, meeting, 10.30am, followed by Makarika Cup playoffs and club haggle for rest.

PatutahiHOME-course players dominated the Patutahi ladies open tournament on Saturday. Shelley Robertson, (net 70), Jandy Solomon (33 points), Andrea Haisman (gross 94), Helen Humble (net 67) and Jan Ewart (38 points) enjoyed wins.

Wairoa sisters Sylvia and Ngapera McRoberts were also in the prizes. Ngapera (81) was a runaway winner of the senior gross while Sylvia was second in the net. Sixty-six was the route to victory in the men’s competition on Sunday. Matt Stock and Pete won their sections with net 66s.

Patutahi will be running junior coaching at the course every Monday from 4pm to 6pm, starting on October 16. Clubs and balls will be provided.

TUESDAY — Women’s stableford: D Nienhuys 100-28-72, 36; J Ewart 103-28-75, 32.

SUNDAY — Men’s net, senior division: M Stock 66, T Green 66, G Brown 67.

Junior division: P Johnston 66, A Hindmarsh 67, J Blair 67.

Women’s net: S Robertson 78.

SATURDAY — Patutahi Ladies Open, senior division, gross: N Roberts 81, F Wesche 90.

Net: S Robertson 70, S McRoberts 74.

Stableford: J Solomon 33, D Johnston 33, M Alley 33, M Wesche 30.

Intermediate division, gross: A Haisman 94 on c/b from A Stills-Hindmarsh.

Net: H Humble 67, R Hiko 68.

Stableford: J Ewart 38, V Fraser 38, J Underhill 32, M Marinoo 30.

Long drives: J Solomon, C Wesche.

Best second shots: N Roberts, J Underhill.

Approaches: S Robertson, R Hiko.

Twos: S Robertson, R Hiko.

FRIDAY — Meat pack nine-hole stableford, senior division: B Wallace 22, B Bell 21, S Pohatu 20, B Green 20, D Meadows 20, K Daniels 20.

Junior division: C Newman 24, G Tattersfield 22, D Skudder 22, P Harrison 22, D Sommerton 22, H Pomana 22.

SeniorsARTHUR Bacon led subdued scoring as Gisborne East Coast veteran golfers headed north for a day at Tolaga Bay on Tuesday. A planned bus was cancelled due to a lack of numbers but 24 vets made the trip by car to the nine-hole East Coast track.

Bacon’s modest 38 points was good enough for the win, with Tam Buckingham second on 36 — a welcome return to form for Buckingham after a recent accident in his garage left him sporting cuts, bruises and abrasions.

Thelma Waru and Letty Poananga — dubbed Thelma and Louise for the day — turned out for the women and added some much-needed glamour. They also did an excellent job of feeding the players, who were grateful to Tolaga Bay members for presenting a course in fine condition and providing their customary warm hospitality.

Stableford results, men: A Bacon 38 (Poverty Bay), T Buckingham 36 (Gisborne Park), B Bell (PB) 36, G Burnside (PB) 35, S Mohlmann (Patutahi) 35, R Young 34 (PB), W Robinson (Tolaga Bay) 34, B Morrissey (PB) 32, P Reid (PB) 32, B Rothschild (PB) 30.

Women: T Waru 35, L Poananga 31.

-----

Peter Harrison has been joined by Ron Young on top of the Senior Golfer of the Year leaderboard. Harrison was unable to attend the Tolaga Bay competition, allowing the chasing pack to close the gap. Young’s 34 points saw him move alongside Harrison on 40 points, while Bernie Rothschild and Brian Morrissey also ate into the deficit albeit with minimum points. The reappearance of Bruce Bell after a four-event absence put him back into contention. The top 12 players are still in the mix to become the inaugural winner.

-----

The next event is the society’s signature tournament — the Sean Shivnan Gisborne East Coast open from November 5 to 8 at Poverty Bay Golf Club. Entries are picking up and players are encouraged to get their entry in as soon as possible to avoid disappointment. There are event posters at all clubs and entry forms should also be available. Interested players — men (55 years and over) and women (50yrs and over — can also email pbseniors@outlook.com