Locals Colin Simpson (left) and Andy Carrie teed off the Gisborne East Coast Veteran Golfers' open tournament in trophy-winning style at the Awapuni Links course on Sunday. Carrie shot a personal-best 86-24-62 to win the Discovery Cup net for players aged 70 and over. Simpson's 79-12-67 won the Endeavour Trophy for players aged 50 to 69. Three days of matchplay for the 48 players in the men's field followed the Sunday round while 15 women played strokeplay from Monday to Wednesday.
An age-breaking performance, personal bests and back-to-earth experiences were all part of the game at the Gisborne East Coast Veteran Golfers’ open tournament this week.
A field of 48 men and 15 women competed in the annual open held at Poverty Bay’s Awapuni Links course from Sunday to Wednesday.
The men played the traditional net round on Sunday in which two trophies were up for grabs: the Endeavour Trophy for players 50 to 69 years and the Discovery Cup for players 70 years and over.
Andy Carrie (Poverty Bay) produced his best-ever round “by miles” - 86-24-62 - to win the Discovery Cup.
Nigel Jones was a shot back on 82-19-63. He said it was his lowest round at Poverty Bay (although an 81 from December 2009 was found on the NZ Golf handicap index website).
Another Poverty Bay player, James McGregor, continued the red-hot Sunday scoring in finishing third with 82-18-64.
Home-course player Tene Goldsmith added another age-breaking score to his superb record, the 78-year-old carding 76-10-66, then again shooting 76 on the Monday.
Scoring was more sedate in the Endeavour Trophy section. Colin Simpson (Poverty Bay) won with 79-12-67, two shots ahead of four players.
It was hero to zero for Carrie and Simpson in their opening group matches on Monday. Both men lost.
Finals for all six groups were held on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the women got into the course-burning act for their three days of strokeplay.
Te Puia Hot Springs member Iritana Ngarimu had a scorching 98-34-64, for 46 Stableford points in round 2.
It was one of several 40-plus efforts.
Poverty Bay’s Lynne Holmberg signed for an excellent 82-14-68 in round 1 while Caren Van Der Meys (Mt Maunganui), Jaye McCafferty (Poverty Bay) and Gayle Nairn (Fairview) also impressed.
Full results will be in Saturday’s Gisborne Herald.
Sonny Ritchie and Ella Wynyard are Waikohu’s 2025 shootout champions.
Ritchie was blowing the smoke from the barrels of his Colt 45s after a six-cowboy gunfight on Sunday.
He saved the last bullet for Richard Reeves in the hole-by-hole net elimination men’s final.
Blair Crawshaw was the first to be measured up by the undertaker, followed in succession by Percy Milner, Larry Green, Tipi Ruru and Reeves.
With the sharpshooting prowess of the legendary Annie Oakley, Wynyard emerged the sole survivor of a seven-women battle.
Fresh from shooting the lights out at the Eagles tournament at Poverty Bay the week before, Andrea Reeves met her maker on the very first hole.
Others sent six feet under were Toni Rutene, Audrey Tamanui-Nunn, Cheryl Te Rito and Val Grace.
It left Wynyard and Marg Tuapawa as the last two standing, and Wynyard proved too quick to the draw for her good mate to pocket the winning loot.
SUNDAY: 9-hole Stableford, men: P. Milner 20, T. Ruru 18
Women: E. Wynyard 17, M. Tuapawa 16.
Twos: P. Milner.
COMING UP: SATURDAY/SUNDAY - Coates and McLean 4x12-hole open matchplay tournament, 10am tee-off.
Michael Bond holds the narrowest of leads as a clear line has been drawn in qualifying for the men’s shootout final next month.
Bond is sitting on 573 for his eight-round net total, a single shot ahead of Mat Greeks with Ian Loffler third on 575.
Tony Leggett is in the 19th and final qualifying spot on 632, 11 strokes clear of 20th-placed Ben Holt.
The last day of qualifying is November 23. The final is on November 30.
Min Vette was the odd one out of the three winners in last Thursday’s Novus Glass twilight Stableford.
Vette was giving away a few decades to teenager Marcus Gray and 12-year-old Kymani Tamatea, but her 22 points earned her Division 2 glory.
Gray had four birdies in his Division 1-winning 1-under 35 for 20 points while Tamatea was second on countback in Division 2 with 22.
THURSDAY (Oct 16): Novus Glass twilight Stableford, Division 1: M. Gray 20.
Division 2: M. Vette 22, K. Tamatea 22.
Men’s long drive: J. Devery.
Women’s long drive: K. Sarich.
Nearest to pin: J. Brown.
Birdie board (No 17): M. Gray, D. Collier.
Monkey on the back: S. Cameron.
Simulator Challenge: J. Adams.
COMING UP: WEDNESDAY, November 19, Enterprise Cars Ladies Xmas Tournament, gross, net, Stableford, nearest to pin, nearest to line, twos, best dressed (Christmas theme) prize, 18-hole and 9-hole sections, maximum handicap of 36, report at 9am for 9.30am shotgun start, entries close Monday, Nov 17, contact Kino White 0224956677 or Sue Maisey 0210671313.
Three weeks out from surgery to his left knee and Patutahi club president Tony Green is playing some of the best golf of his life ... typical.
Green will be laid low for an uncertain period of time from November 18 and is making the most of his golf until then.
Green won the Division 1 men’s net on Sunday with 74-10-64 - his best score at ’Tahi in over 4½ years.
“And that was with an out of bounds (on the 14th hole),” he said.
It was the warmest of more hot scoring as the greens return to excellent quality after coring and the course dries out.
Butch McKenzie won Division 2 with 80-15-65, on countback from Pete Summersby, while Sheree Gray’s 66 won the women’s net, pipping Shelley Robertson by a shot.
Shayde Skudder and Dwayne Russell turned on an entertaining display of power hitting. Both men made eagle-2s on the fifth hole - Skudder’s helping him to a 3-under 67.
SUNDAY: Women’s net: S. Gray 66, S. Robertson 67, K. Sarich 67.
Men’s net, Division 1: T. Green 64, K. Harrison-Allen 66, G. Brown 67, Shayde Skudder 67, A. Hindmarsh 69, E. Brown jnr 69.
Division 2: B. McKenzie 65, P. Summersby 65, B. Tietjen 66, T. Sharp 67, G. Holland 67, R. Pardoe 67.
Twos: Shayde Skudder (eagle on 5), D. Russell (eagle on 5).
FRIDAY - Meat pack 9-hole Stableford, Division 1: T Sharp 20, H. Harris 18, P. Summersby 18, A. Hindmarsh 18, D. Wilson 17.
Division 2: R. Monika 20, G. Holland 20, G. Maude 19, R. Evans 19, J. Blair 19.
COMING UP: SATURDAY, November 8, King and Queen of the Country open tournament, 11am tee-off, contact George Brown 0273709869 or horiboy1@xtra.co.nz
Tolaga Bay is counting down to its centenary celebration this Saturday.
Members old and new, along with players from other clubs, will converge in Ūawa to mark the occasion with a 9-hole ambrose, followed by a feast and speeches.
Entries are still being taken for the four-person ambrose, which tees off from 10am. Contact Murray Yates 0220943728.
Dan Maitai tore apart the back nine, including the jackpot of two twos, in a one-man show on Sunday.
Maitai shot 79-16-63, for 41 points, to win the Stableford - his performance featuring a 1-under 33 homeward nine and twos on the 12th and 17th holes.
He also had a birdie on the 18th and won the approach.
SUNDAY: Stableford: D. Maitai 41, BJ Sidney 39, T. Adamson 38, W. Aupouri 38.
Twos: D. Maitai 2, G. McLean, M. Watts.
Approach: D. Maitai.
Late charges are being mounted as the qualifying deadline for the Sean Shivnan Pharmacy Men’s 19-hole Shootout approaches.
Blake Marshall rocketed to the top of the standings with his Division 2 men’s Stableford-winning 83-21-62, for 46 points, on Sunday.
It gave him a three-round net total of 192 on the shootout board, eight strokes ahead of No 2 Glen Udall.
Pete Anderson secured a spot in the 19 with his Division 1-winning 72-3-69, for 39, on Sunda. Tony Akroyd went one better gross-wise - 71-2-69 - but had to settle for second.
Those hoping to make the November 9 shootout final have until Sunday, November 2.
As of this week, there were 17 players on 207 or better, and three on 208.
Plenty of run on the Awapuni Links fairways is being relished by many, reflected in the scoring.
A classic example of that was last Thursday’s Division 2 Men’s Stableford won by Dallas Atkins on 42 points on countback from Craig Morton, with Harvey Johanson third on 41.
SUNDAY - Men’s Stableford, Division 1: P. Anderson 39, T. Akroyd 39, A. White 38.
Division 2: B. Marshall 46, S. Hihi 40, R. Gibson 38, L. Hurlstone 38, J. Finch 38.
Twos: J. Finch, T. Akroyd, D. Croskery.
Nearest to pin: P. Anderson.
SATURDAY: Men’s Stableford, Division 1: T. Goldsmith 39, P. Butler 36.
Division 2: M. Smith 39, W. Thompson 38.
Twos: A. Reedy 2, P. Butler.
Nearest to pin: R. Chalmers.
THURSDAY (Oct 16): Men’s Stableford, Division 1: V. Richardson 39, M. Thomas 37, I. Murphy 36, J. Bryden 36, J. Leaf 36.
Division 2: D. Atkins 42, C. Morton 42, H. Johanson 41.
Twos: I. Murphy, M. Dodgshun, S. Willock, M. Higham, M. Thomas.
Nearest to pin: S. Willock.
COMING UP: SATURDAY, Wesche Memorial Tournament, 18-hole ambrose, teams of 3, 11am tee-off, first-timers welcome, entry and patai to Maraea 0272292342;
SATURDAY/SUNDAY, Nov 1-2, Fiordland Lobster Company Mahia Men’s 36-hole Open, 9-hole warm-up on Friday, team and individual round on Saturday, second individual round Sunday, contact Maraea Wesche 0272292342 or mwesche@gmail.com