Club finalists set to battle

It was a relatively quiet weekend at Mahunga with quite a few away on other duties, including a contingent at the Clubs NZ Southern Regions Tournament in windy Waikanae. It was left to Neville Biel to go from chump to champ and win the two-day Mahunga Open. On Saturday he shot a very ordinary round of 93 off the stick but after a good night's sleep he returned on Sunday and shot the field to pieces with an outstanding round of 79 for a nett 61, and - with a gross total of 172 - was a deserved winner of the gross section. The nett was won by Sila "Woods" Faaiauaso with nett 67 on Saturday and 73 on Sunday for a total of 140.
Sunday saw a medal round for the club and first was Layton Kawana with a nett 64 and he was closely followed by Steve Doherty with 65. There was a gap back to Mark Logan in third with 71, and Laurence Butler took fourth with 72 on countback from Alan Eagle. Holes in two were scored by Steve Doherty, Alan Eagle, and Paul Haxton. Much to everyone's delight Lukie's Lucky Last was won by our esteemed president Darryl Coley.
Today is our finals day for the Club Champs. The men's Senior Open sees Troy Shaw against Ivan Karaitiana and Troy should prevail here as he is in great form. The men's Intermediate sees Jason Paku and Steve Walton go head to head and over 36 holes of matchplay. I am picking Jason to be too strong here. The most interesting match of the day should be the Junior A match between Shane Stewart and Chris Paine. Although Shane should really be playing in the intermediate division as he has in previous years, the handicapper (and his golf) has deemed him eligible in this division. I am picking Chris to cause an upset and win this one. The Junior B trophy should be taken out by Phillip Granich over Ross Ireland.
In the women, Anita Karaitiana should be too strong for Michelle Coley in the Silver division and record her fourth straight win in the Club Champs. In the Bronze division there will be another intriguing match between Di Hunter and Maria Lauvi. With 36 holes of matchplay ahead of them it is anyone's guess where this match will finish, but I am picking Di to prevail narrowly.
Sunday sees the first round of the Greenaway Cup, which is the best two of three rounds of mixed Canadian Foursomes. Don't forget the Wairarapa Men's Fourball Tournament on Sunday, November 14, at Mahunga so get your entries in to the club.