Birdies clinch victory

Saturday saw the men involved in the quarterfinals of the club championships, with several close matches.
The intermediate division saw top seed Jason Paku advance after a tussle with Haira Paku, a match that was very close until Jason Paku produced three consecutive birdies in the back nine to take the win. Three-time winner of the title Darryl Coley had a close battle with Quentin Henderson, with the former taking the match on the 17th hole. Second seed Damian Carroll progressed at the expense of David O'Reilly and Steve Walton belied his lowly seeding by making it to the semifinals at the expense on Daniele Towgood.
In the junior division, top seed Chris Paine had to play very well to stay with Layton Kawana in a match that was close all the way, and saw both players go down the 19th hole before the top seed progressed. The match between Ken Downing and Graham Duckett was another close one, with this match also going to the 19th hole before Graham Duckett secured the win. Greg Granich took the early lead from Anton Coltham and managed to keep the match under control for the win.
Two open matches were played on the day, with Bruce Herangi taking out Suele Soromon on the 17th hole, and Ivan Karaitiana heading off Matthew Biel on the 16th hole.
Saturday's club competition was a Stableford round. In the first group, Jason Paku led the way with a 43-point total. Meki Lauvi took second place on 41, with Ray Cocks just a point further back. The second group saw a tie at the top, with Layton Kawana and Chris Paine both returning scores of 44, with a gap back to Kevin May in third place on 39.
The Solway Pie Shop nearest to the pin on the first hole went to Jason Paku, while the Mitre 10 on the third hole went to Noeline Stevenson, while the McAuley's Transport on the sixth hole went to Anton Coltham. The Solway Butchery on the eighth went to Troy Shaw, the Alister Bruce Affordable Sheds on the 10th hole, and the Dinah and Deb Keats Professionals Real Estate on the 17th hole went to Layton Kawana. The All Teed Up on the fourth hole fell to Chris Paine. Holes in two scored were scored by Heather Ousey and Layton Kawana.
Sunday saw Troy Shaw, who is a member of the Mahunga and Masterton golf clubs, playing in the final of the Masterton club championships. In the blustery conditions, Shaw and Sam Forrester played exceptional golf in a match that went right down to the 36th hole, with Shaw taking the win.
Sunday's club competition was a medal round, which saw Paul Haxton take away the top prize with a nett 69, which was two ahead of Steve Dick, while Colin McAuley, Terry Fleet and Kevin Hunter all returned scores of 73.
On Tuesday, the veterans played in a Stableford round.
The best of the women was Janet Campbell with 39 points taking her comfortably to the top spot in the first group, with the runners-up spot taken by Daphne Jordan on 31, with another gap back to Maria Lauvi on 26. The scoring was closer in the second group, with Janet Shaw leading the way with 34, which was one better than Irene Phelps and Judith O'Connor.
In the men's competition, Blair Harvey headed the first group on 36 points, with Doug Simpson one point adrift, while Keith Morgan and Allan Allsworth both had 34.
In the second group, Trevor Oliver had the men's best score of 37 points. Ross Ireland was the runner-up on 35, with Ian Gemmill the next best with 30.
The women's nearest to the pins went to Janet Shaw on the third hole and Maria Lauvi on the sixth, while the men's went to Blair Harvey on the sixth hole and Ross Ireland on the seventh. Ray Loader scored the only hole in two for the day.
This coming Saturday has the men and women playing the semifinals of their club championships and associated consolation events. The draw for those involved follows at the end of this report. For those players not involved in the matches, the competition will be a medal round. Sunday is a free day for men and women, with the club competition being a Stableford round.
The club has two tournaments coming up in the near future. The first is the DB Business House Tournament, which is being held on Wednesday, October 6, with the starting time being at noon. The second tournament is the revamped Mahunga Open Tournament, which is being played as a 72-hole Matchplay tournament on the weekend of October 9-10. The tournament has a sponsorship from All Teed Up for the tournament. The entries for this tournament are being taken now.
Club championship matches - Saturday, October 2:
11.15am: R. Cocks v I. Karaitiana; M. Logan v N. Faaiuaso. 11.22am: P. Granich v N. Graham; D. Carroll v S. Walton. 11.29am: J. Paku v D. Coley; S. Stewart v G. Granich. 11.36am: C. Paine v G. Duckett; S. Doherty v R. Ireland. 11.43am: T. Shaw v B. Herangi.