Spud Murphy last Thursday showed some of the form that earned him the 2000 Poverty Bay Open, two senior men's club championship crowns and the No 1 spot in the Poverty Bay-East Coast representative team in his day. This photo was taken in 2004. Photo / Paul Rickard
Electrinet Park member Carney Pipi had a day to remember at the Te Puia Hot Springs Ladies’ Open on Saturday.
Pipi won the Division 1 gross with 83 on the par-68 course, got nearest to the pin for her division and smacked out the longest drive.
On top of all that, she also won her Tairāwhiti women’s interclub pennants match. Round 2 of the pennants was played as part of the Open.
Wairoa’s Doris Brown won the Division 1 net with 84-18-66, while Division 2 was dominated by locals – Pauline Summersby’s 91 winning the gross and new member Frances McClutchie (64) the net.
SATURDAY – Te Puia Hot Springs Ladies’ Open, Division 1, gross: C. Pipi 83.
Net: D. Brown 66.
Division 2, gross: P. Summersby 91.
Net: F. McClutchie 64.
Twos: S. Gray, F. Tupara.
Nearest to the pin: C. Pipi (Div 1), M. Tuapawa (Div 2).
Long drive: C. Pipi (Div 1), H. Miller (Div 2).
COMING UP: SUNDAY, committee meeting.
A rare eagle on the par-4 third was negated by a “doh” moment by Keith Marshall in Saturday’s pro competition.
Marshall sank a 7-iron on the 339-metre par-4 third hole for an eagle-2.
Three holes later he made 2 on the par-3 sixth for what would have been a $250 jackpot (two twos) if he had entered ... he hadn’t.
Colin Simpson won the Division 1 men’s Stableford on Saturday with 39 points, one ahead of Stephen Franks.
Terry Loomis’s 38 topped Division 2.
Thirty-nine was the winning score in both divisions on Sunday – Jacob Leaf in Division 1, Jarome Finch in Division 2.
Spud Murphy’s best round of 2025 was 74. The 2000 Poverty Bay Open champion equalled that last Thursday to win the Division 1 Stableford with 42 points.
Brent Croskery won Division 2 with 35.
WEDNESDAY (March 5) – Twilight Stableford, senior men’s division, front 9: M. Wright 24.
Junior men, front 9: J. Partington 21, M. Murphy 21.
Back 9: T. Beattie 22, C. Fox 20.
Percy Milner and Sonny Ritchie will duke it out for the Men’s Handicap Singles crown.
In Sunday’s semi-finals, Milner ousted 2025 champion Richard Reeves while Ritchie knocked out Larry Green.
Milner’s 32 points was also good enough to top the men’s Stableford.
SUNDAY – Men’s Stableford: P. Milner 32, T. Kaio 30, K. Tamanui 30, R. Reeves 29, S. Ritchie 29.
Women’s putting: A. Tamanui-Nunn 30, C. Rito 32, A. Reeves 33.
Twos: A. Tamanui-Nunn
Men’s Handicap Singles semi-finals: P. Milner def R. Reeves, S. Ritchie def L. Green.
COMING: SUNDAY, club competition, handicap singles.
Marcus Gray is set to add even more firepower to the Pātutahi arsenal as the club eyes a successful defence of the Tairāwhiti men’s interclub pennants.
The teenaged left-hander, who will be wearing ’Tahi colours over the series, won the Division 1 men’s gross on Sunday with 1-over 73.
Materoa Philip had the round of the day – her net 66 winning the women’s net.
Other victors on the day were Shelley Robertson (82, women’s gross); Jon Priestley (67, Div 1 net); Tony Sharp (81, Div 2 gross); and Graeme Holland (69, Div 2 net).
SUNDAY – Women’s gross: S. Robertson 82.
Women’s net: M. Philip 66.
Division 1 men, gross: M. Gray 73.
Net: J. Priestley 67, G. Brown 68, S. Toa 68, K. Harrison-Allen 69, P. Summersby 70.
Division 2 men, gross: T. Sharp 81.
Net: G. Holland 69, C. Taylor 69, K. Dodgshun 70, M. Pohatu 70 on c/b.
FRIDAY – Meat pack 9-hole Stableford, Division 1: D. Dodgshun 21, A. Nimmo 20, L. Anania 20, S. Pohatu 19, T. Sharp 18, G. Brown 18.
Division 2: J. Tietjen 22, R. Evans 22, G. Maude 20, G. Roadley 20, B. Tietjen 19, K. Dodgshun 19.
COMING UP: SATURDAY, Pātutahi open opening day tournament, Canadian mixed foursomes and men’s sections, contact George Brown 0273709869 or horiboy1@xtra.co.nz
Alex Nanai is starting to get the hang of this game.
Nanai had his official best nine-hole score in last Thursday’s Novus Glass Twilight Stableford.
Not only did his 41-11-30, for 24 points, win Division 2, his birdie-3 on the 11th earned him $58 as it was the Birdie Board hole.
THURSDAY (March 5) – Novus Glass Twilight Stableford, Division 1: R. Maynard 21.
Division 2: A. Nanai 24, K. Collier 21.
Men’s long drive: M. Henwood.
Women’s long drive: J. Rolls.
Nearest the pin: K. Tamatea.
Birdie Board: A. Nanai.
Monkey on the back: D. Maiava.
Trent Higgs marked 35 years with the police force last week, then laid down the law on his home course on Sunday.
Higgs won the Stableford with 74-13-61, for 43 points. It was his best score at Ūawa since a 72 in April of 2022.
SUNDAY – Stableford: T. Higgs 43, P. Tuapawa 40.
Approach: T. Adamson.
SUNDAY (March 1) – Summer shootout winner: R. Paora.
SUNDAY (Feb 28) – Men’s Stableford: J. Hale 40.
Mahia’s Roger Bremner was top of the “Pops” when Gisborne East Coast veteran golfers headed to Pātutahi for their monthly competition on Tuesday.
Bremner shot 78-11-67, for 39 points, to win the men’s Stableford. He also had the only two.
Poverty Bay’s Larry Foser (36) was second and clubmate Nigel Jones was third on 35 on countback.
TUESDAY – GEC Veteran Golfers’ Society Stableford, men: R Bremmer 39, L. Foster 36, N. Jones 35, B. Maher 35, P. Rickard 34, J. Kerekere 33, B. Morrissey 33, D. Mettrick 33, G. Tattersfield 33.
Women: S. Gray.
Honours shared ... Poverty Bay and Electrinet Park could not be separated in the clash of the day in Round 2 of the Tairāwhiti women’s interclub pennants.
Held as part of the Te Puia Hot Springs Ladies’ Open on Saturday, the battle of the city clubs ended in a 5-all draw.
This year’s pennants is a matchplay format comprising senior, intermediate, junior and open players.
Carney Pipi (senior player) and Tracey Ford (intermediate) had wins for Park, while Anne Gemmell (junior) and Pen Wanklyn (open) posted Poverty Bay’s victories.
Pātutahi lead the series after collecting near maximum points in a 9-1 defeat of Mahia.
Frances Tupara (intermediate) marked her pennants debut with an emphatic win. Charlie Holland (junior) and Kim Torrez (open) contributed the other points.
Sheree Gray (senior) halved her match with Mahia’s Trena Smith – Gray’s putt for the win finishing centimetres short.
Wairoa collected all 10 points against Waikohu with wins to Louise Tana, June Underhill, Taina Paku and Doris “Dardie” Brown.
As host club, Te Puia Hot Springs did not play in what is a seven-team series, but collected the maximum 10 points for the round.
Pātutahi are top of the table on 19, followed by Wairoa 15, Te Puia Hot Springs 12, Electrinet Park 10, Mahia 9, Waikohu 8 and Poverty Bay 7.
Round 3 is at Mahia on March 21.