Fat lady still waiting

By Noel Preston I doubt very much if "It's not over till the fat lady sings," was an original golf expression, but my word how often does it apply to the game of golf.
At lunch-time in the final of the men's club championship at Lansdowne last Sunday Sam Forrester was 4 up over Robin Smith and apparently cruising, despite the fact that he hardly hit a fairway from the tee all morning. Smith, on the other hand, was more accurate, but was unable to land the birdies.
After the break there was an astonishing turnaround, with Robin winning the first six holes in a row to bounce out to two up. His accuracy and distance were impressive, while Sam contributed to his slump with continuing waywardness off the tees. Forrester got back to 1 down but Smith put another break on him by winning the 10th and 11th holes before taking out the title 4/3 at the 15th.
For 17 year old Robin Smith, he was successful in his first Senior final. Sam Forrester, on the other hand, has figured in the last three finals with his sole win coming in 2002.
In the Senior Plate, the older Forrester, Peter, went through the same experience as his son. Playing steady golf, he was a comfortable 5 up over an erratic Simon Dew at the lunch break. Peter claims he is not a good front runner, but with Simon hitting some prodigious drives and tightening up his game, Forrester was always going to struggle. All square after the penultimate hole, Peter had tree trouble at the last to lose 1 down to Simon. The latter must have had one of the biggest drives ever at the 12th hole when he boomed through the green at this 305 metre par 4.
It was something of a one horse race in the Intermediate final with Nigel Udy rocketing out to a 6 up lead over Mike Dixon by lunch-time. With a mixture of power and accuracy, plus great recovery shots at the 15th and 16th, Udy shot an impressive 78 off his 10 handicap. Dixon didn't play too badly but with Udy continuing to perform the end was inevitable, and Nigel finished it off at the 29th hole, with an 8/7 victory.
In the Intermediate Plate final Derek Clarkson, 2 up at lunch-time over Jeff Harrild, held his cool and his lead to run out a 5/3 winner.
One of the current form horses at the moment is Gary Tennant and he showed his style again in the Junior final against Doug Yarrall. An 84 in the morning gave him a 7 up lead at the break, which he eventually turned into a 10/8 victory.
The Junior plate was also something of a one-sided affair with Tim Crum 8 up at lunch, then running out an 11/10 winner over Tony White.
The Masters event this year was played on handicap over 18 holes, and with Ash Peterson a little rattled from a rushed start, Barry Smith shot out to a 5 up lead after 6 holes. Ash recovered a little but Barry received his one shot at the 15th where he proceeded to sink a long curling putt for a 4, nett 3, and a 4/3 victory.
The Masters Plate went to Cor Van Kesteren who had a comfortable win over Vic Domanski.
The Junior B final was also over 18 holes and here Rex Fowler made no race of it with a 6/4 win over Kieran Dougherty.
Trophy presentations followed the golf and I list some of the winners of the major events outside the Championships.
Summer Cup: Tom webb
Chairman's Trophy: Harry Wong
Oldfield Rosebowl: Sofi Fanua
Captain's Trophy: Arthur Sandford and John Gold.
Jameson Cup: Kieran Dougherty and Peter Connell.
Club Foursomes: Trevor Hill and Barry Smith
Maunsell Trophy: Robin Carseldine
Jimmy Shearer: Jan and Alan Williams
Riverside Salver: Brian Campbell
Cameron Trophy: David Greenlees and Murray Brown
Kier Trophy: Jenny and Alan Sadler
Hornabrook Cup: Sofi Fanua
Challenge Shield: Courtney Gane (71)
Baker 4 Ball: Miles Oldershaw and Graeme McNae
Elliott Cup (Most promising Junior): Brett Gibbs
Junior Special Award: Michael Schofield
Best Junior Gross: Robin Smith (67)
On Monday in excellent golfing conditions the Vets had their weekly stableford.
Women: Colleen Hamilton 26 pts 1st, Helen Falloon 26 pts 2nd, Bib Vallance 24 pts 3rd.
Men Group 1: Harvey Ward 26 pts 1st, Mick Gates 26 pts 2nd, David Logan 25 pts 3rd.
Men Group 2: Graeme Newland 27 pts 1st, Brian Jury 27 pts 2nd, Jim Picking 27 pts 3rd.
John Tatham and Barbara Hullena were nearest the pin at the Fagan Ford 8th hole.
There is a stableford set down for next Saturday, but then on Sunday, starting at 10 am we see the final of the Markham's Men's Shootout.
Those involved in order of qualifying are: Sofi Fanua, Doug Yarrall, Alan Carroll, Ash Peterson, Gavin Harris, Kevin Mackay, Phil Rutene, Alan Sadler, Kieran Dougherty, Tony Iggulden, Rod Garden, Vic Domanski, Tim Crum, Henry Stechman, Ben Campbell, Robin Carseldine, Brian Leighton, Paul Fouhy, Rob Harrison. The reserves are headed by Dennis Hogg and John Waddington.
On Tuesday the women staged an Ambrose in a field which included visitors and 9 holers. The contest which had 3 or 4 team members resulted in a win for the combination of Jo Bird, Chris Lewis and Rachel Bird with a nett score of 47. For a while Chris and Rachel wondered what they were doing there as Jo hit a purple patch.
First she drove the green at the 4th then sank the putt for an eagle 2, then she birdied the par 4 5th hole. She had a total of 5 shots on 2 par 4s without her partners contributing anything. There was also a most successful bring and buy which raised $300 which will go towards the refurbishment of the club kitchen.
Next Tuesday sees the final of the Adam Philps Podiatrist Shoot Out with a 9 am start.
Off The Fairway
Yes, it is Liquor Plus Christmas Turkey time again, to be exact Saturday December 4. There is the usual starting sheet up in the club-house, where you write in your names against a tee and a time.
So don't delay, deal with it right away, or the big birds will have flown, and you'll be left to moan and groan. You can see I'm a natural poet!