Bottom qualifier Peter Clayton knocked out top seed Hayden Keast in the first round of the Senior Division of the men's club championships at Poverty Bay Golf Club last weekend. Photo / Liam Clayton
Rochelle Taewa is hunting her first senior women’s club championship crown in 19 years while Marg Colebourne is eyeing a second in next Wednesday’s 2025 finals day.
Both women braved a Wednesday winter blast with convincing victories in their semifinals.
Taewa beat Jan Utting 5 and 4 while Colebourne eliminated an injured Gay Young 6 and 5 to set up what Colebourne believes will be be the first time they have ever met in a trophy decider.
Taewa won the senior crown in 2003 and 2006; Colebourne in 2019.
Viv Bell and Janet Muir will decide the intermediate title while Vonnie Fletcher and Jean Clayton are the junior finalists.
Sue McLoughlin beat Suzy Gardner 1-up in the 9-holers’ final.
What goes up ... Tell that to Matt Henwood’s ball, which went rebel on him and that phrase as the first round of matchplay in the Liquorland men’s club championships produced a flurry of upsets in the senior division, including the early exit of the top qualifier.
No 1 seed Hayden Keast was ejected 3 and 2 by 16th qualifier Peter Clayton in what the latter unassumingly described as “a bit of a surprise”.
Considering there was 11 shots between the two in qualifying - Keast’s 77 to Clayton’s 88 – it was something of an understatement, but also underlined the enigmatic and unpredictability matchplay golf brings.
Straight-hitting Clayton was solid. He was 3-over-par when the pair shook hands and that sort of scoring after a stretch of 80-plus rounds augurs nicely for Saturday’s quarter-finals.
There he will face Alex Meban, who added his name to the eyebrow-raising winners list with a sudden-death playoff defeat of Henwood – one of the most improved senior players in Tairāwhiti over the past year.
A bogey-six for Meban to Henwood’s seven on the first extra hole was good enough after Henwood’s ball found the tree with his second shot on the par-5, never to be seen again.
Stefan Andreasson was blunt in his assessment of his 3 and 2 win against Pete Anderson ... “It was more he lost it than I won it.”
His quarter-final opponent is second seed Waka Donnelly, who was heading to Napier after his round so was keen to get going ASAP. An 8 and 7 obliteration of Jon Jenner helped.
Gisborne Intermediate School principal Andy Hayward kept Gisborne Boys’ High School Year 12 student Marcus Gray honest before the youngster finished it on the 17th.
His quarter-final adversary is Tony Akroyd, who gave kudos to an opponent (Pat Butler) he said “never gave up to the end” – the end coming on the 15th.
It was an action movie title – Situ-ation Extermination – for sixth seed Reece Witters as he lost on the first extra hole to James Situ. Witters, in a brutally honest self-assessment, said he “played like a dog and the putter left the building”.
Situ will play his round 2 match against Craig Palmer on Friday after Palmer eased past Willie Mortleman 3 and 2.
Reigning intermediate champion Tene Goldsmith appears to have been spat back out of a vortex of horror form. Having qualified 15th with 96, followed by a catastrophic 103 last Thursday, Goldsmith ousted No 2 qualifier Stephen Francks 2 and 1. His 80 off the stick for 39 points in Tuesday’s vets’ competition sent quarter-final opponent Keith Marshall the message ... “Goldie’s back”.
Big Dog-smoking Mike Christophers kept the driver under control in a perhaps surprisingly comfortable 4 and 3 victory over No 3 seed Dave Jenkins.
Richard Foon celebrated a Beatles song birthday last week but there will be no intermediate title belated present for the 64-year-old as Tairāwhiti Golf president Pete Hakiwai crashed Foon’s party 5 and 4.
Other intermediate round 1 winners were Vance Richardson (by default), Alex Kirkpatrick, Darryl Grant and Dirk Bullivant.
Octogenarian and junior division No 1 seed Cliff Poole is somewhere in the vicinity of 70 years older than his second-round foe Kymani Tamatea. Neither have been tested yet. Poole enjoyed a bye in round 1 while Tamatea won by default over Manav Garewal.
A Tamatea father-son final is a possibility. Kymani’s father Waiti, on the other side of the draw, knocked out 2024 champion Bill Simpson on the first extra hole.
James McGregor got past Cary Hensley in a close encounter.
Summer-loving Kim Travers exploded from his golfing funk with a 40-point winning haul in the veterans’ Stableford on Tuesday.
Travers, not a fan of winter golf, won with 90-22-68, including a two – his best round at the Awapuni Links since an 86 off 18 in February.
TUESDAY – Veterans’ Stableford: K Travers 40, T. Goldsmith 39, C Poole 38, D. Niven 37, K. Goldsmith 37.
Twos: T. Goldsmith, K. Goldsmith, J. McGregor, M. Pittar, K. Travers.
SUNDAY – Men’s Stableford, Division 1: B. Morgan 36, J. Leaf 32.
Division 2: A. Putnam 35, R. Norman 34.
Approach on 6: B. Talbot.
SATURDAY – Liquorland men’s club championships, round 1, Senior Division: Peter Clayton def Hayden Keast 3 and 2; Alex Meban def Matt Henwood on the 19th; Tony Akroyd def Pat Butler 4 and 3; Marcus Gray def Andy Hayward 2 and 1; Waka Donnelly def Jon Jenner 8 and 7; Stefan Andreassen def Pete Anderson 3 and 2; Craig Palmer def Willie Mortleman 3 and 2; James Situ def Reece Witters on the 19th.
Intermediate: Vance Richardson def Dave Pirimona; Alex Kirkpatrick def Hamish Evans; Peter Hakiwai def Richard Foon; Darryl Grant def Mike Lewin; Tene Goldsmith def Stephen Francks; Keith Marshall def Jarome Finch; Mike Christophers def Dave Jenkins; Dirk Bullivant def Laurie Owen.
Junior (top 5 had byes into round 2): Kymani Tamatea def Manav Garewal; Waiti Tamatea def Bill Simpson; James McGregor def Carey Hensley.
Byes: Cliff Poole, Shaquaid Hihi, Mark Stewart, Andrew Putnam, Neville West.
Twos: B. Simpson, C. Palmer, A. Hayward.
Approach: C. Palmer.
THURSDAY (Aug 4) – Men’s Stableford, Division 1: C. Palmer 36, N. Mackie 35, A. Abrahams 35, G. Morley 35.
Division 2: M. Wright 39, G. Clapham 35, A. Jefferd 34, K. Goldsmith 32.
Twos: P. Graham
Approach on 6: P. Graham.
Reigning senior champion Kino White will need to lift her game considerably if she is going to repeat history in this year’s women’s club championships.
White earned a first senior honour last year when she defeated 21-times champion Karen Hay in the semis and four-times champ Jo Kerr in the final.
She may well need to do exactly the same this year. White is up against Hay, who top-qualified last Saturday with 83 ... 20 shots better than White.
Kerr’s 86 gave her the No 2 spot. She plays third seed Carney Pipi (92) in the other semi.
Six players are contesting the intermediate division. Tai Aramakutu faces Pat Johansen and Jacque Akuhata plays Sue Maisey in the first round. Min Vette and Tracey Ford have byes.
The junior semis pit Raukura Chesley against Kath Papuni and Wai Miller against Ashley Tuari.
Tāwhirimātea got out on the wrong side of bed on Sunday and the god of weather’s anger put paid to the first matchplay round of the club championships.
The course was closed on Sunday and reopened Tuesday (no carts).
Club champs matchplay was pushed out a week and the first round will be held this Sunday, weather permitting.
Junior men’s top seed Tony Sharp won Division 1 of the meat pack 9-hole Stableford on Friday with 18 points.
Tom Hindmarsh and George Brown were among the minor placings, both men helped by bizarrely matching birdies on the sixth and seventh holes – putts from off the green on 6; chip-ins on 7.
FRIDAY – Meat pack 9-hole Stableford, division 1: T. Sharp 18, P. Hokianga 18, T. Hindmarsh 18, G. Brown 17, D. Pohatu 17.
Division 2: J. Tietjen 20, K. Harrison-Allen 20, J. Gillies 19, N. Fraser 18, M. Forrest 17.
COMING UP: SUNDAY, September 14, Ruka Tupara Memorial Tournament, Canadian mixed pairs; SATURDAY, September 20, open closing day, men’s and Canadian mixed pairs sections; SATURDAY, October 4, Birdies for Boobies Women’s Pink Ribbon tournament, pairs 3x6-hole, novelty prizes and raffles, cup of tea at 8.30am, 9.30am tee-off, wear pink and be in to win. Email ladies.patutahigolfclub@gmail.com or text Charlie on 0273442224.
The Noonan Cup open closing day open day tournament is on Saturday, August 23.
Mixed pairs (arrange your own partner) Stableford and men’s gross and Stableford competitions.
Cuppa at 10.30am, tee-off at 11am.
Lunch and dinner provided.
Inquiries to Mike Gibson 0279299205 or Kylie Johnson 0275141786 or email tahungagolfclub@gmail.com.
Note: there is no Eftpos at the club.
Tolaga Bay Golf Club is marking its 100th year with a Centennial Anniversary tournament on Saturday, October 25.
The tournament is a 9-hole ambrose – teams of four – teeing off at 10am.
It will feature gross, net and Stableford sections and kai will be provided.
For more information, contact Murray Yates 0220943728.