Lefties tourney goes well

The 37th running of the Sir Bob Charles Tournament held at Lansdowne last week-end went off very well.
The 60-70 lefties got through the 36 holes without getting wet, with Mother Nature providing what could be called a weather window of opportunity.
Heavy pre-tournament rain ceased early Saturday, and didn't start again until all the participants were safely tucked up in the club house on Sunday afternoon.
I've always suspected that God is a left-hander, and this was emphasised when he drenched the right-handers who played in their club competition on Sunday afternoon.
Aided by a somewhat generous temporary placing rule, the scoring, particularly amidst the middle and long handicappers, was often of a spectacular nature. The best gross round by Dean Kingsbeer, the 4 handicapper from Hutt, was a fine 73. However, two nett 62s, one by Doug Yarrall who fired an 80 off his 18 handicap and one by Paul Wright who shot 78 off a 16, certainly set the tongues wagging.
Thanks must go in particular to the green keepers and to the Wednesday club group who worked so hard, in difficult circumstances, to produce a course in surprisingly good order. Results:
Men's Open: Dean Kingsbeer (75/73) 148, 1st, Paul Brocklehurst (75/75) 150 2nd, Graeme Dick (77/79) 156 3rd, G Burton 161 4th, T Brocklesby 161 5th, J Anderson 164 6th.
Nett Division: Paul Wright (62/67) 129 1st, Misha Bura (64/68) 132 2nd, D Mills (67/71) 138 3rd, J Waddington 142 4th, W Taylor 143 5th, L Butler 143 6th.
Veterans (Nett) Percy Holland Trophy:
Robin Cooper (64/69) 133 1st, Doug Yarrall (72/62) 134 2nd, Roley Glass 135 3rd, J Gold 137 4th, R Maxwell 138 5th, B Poole 138 6th.
Women: Best Gross: Audrey Messenger
Best Nett: Chris Taylor
Sunday Stableford: Keith Dallas 39 pts 1st, Rod Garden 38 pts 2nd, M Spraggs 37 pts 3rd.
Mention should be made of young Brocklesby, the 13 year old from Karori, who shot a fine 76 off his 11 handicap. Then there was the effort of Keith Dallas, the big leftie from Napier, who won the Sunday stableford with a round no fewer than 15 shots better than his Saturday effort.
The Clarke Cup for the best nett round of the tournament was shared by Doug Yarrall and Paul Wright, while the Poole Salver went to the Masterton team of Doug Yarrall, Rod Garden and John Gold.
As mentioned earlier the men's club competition day was last Sunday and while quite a good field set out, not all managed to finish because of what could be called a very wet rain.
Results:
Men Group 1: Brian Leighton 39 pts 1st, Tony Roseingrave 36 pts 2nd.
Men Group 2: Gary Tennant 38 pts 1st, Roley Brown 34 pts 2nd.
Women: Lesley Roberts 37 pts 1st.
Nearest the pin prizes went to Roley Brown at the Alex McLeod 8th hole, to Tony Roseingrave at the Money Managers 18th, and to Jan Wyeth at the women's Office Depot 8th hole.
Last week the 9 holers had a putting competition with Mary Mahoney doing best with just 13 putts, ahead of Rosie Wellbrock who had 15. The latter player was also nearest the pin.
Just on 40 Vets competed in their stableford last Monday in fine but windy conditions. Results:
Women: Bib Vallance 23 pts 1st, Colleen Hamilton 20 pts 2nd.
Men Group 1: Tony Vallance 29 pts 1st, Harvey Ward 25 pts 2nd, Brian Maunsell 24 pts 3rd.
Men Group 2: Ian Schofield 29 pts 1st, Rex Fowler 27 pts 2nd, Graham Chandler 26 pts 3rd.
Colin Henwood was nearest the pin at the Fagan Ford 8th hole.
Please note that next Monday October 18 has the first of the three days in the Metlife Care Vets Tournament.
By now the finals of the Women's Golf Championship will have been decided but by Tuesday, the last day for this article to reach press, only the semi-finalists had been found.
In the Silver division Deidre Walker threw two birdies at Jan Williams to take their quarter-final 3/2. Her opponent will be Rachel Monk, 4/3 winner over Jenni Johnston. The other semi-final will be between Jan Wyeth, who beat Liz Armstrong 5/4, and Tori Forrester, 2/1 winner over Edith Clarkson.
The semi-finals of the Silver Plate will have Pauline Brown against Brenda Blatchford with Jeanette McNae up against Shura Lindsey.
The semi-finalists in the Bronze Championship are Jan Thompson, who played splendidly to beat Ruth Myers and Cindy Giles who defeated Carolyn Stevenson. The other half of the draw features Shirley Simpson, who won her match against Marilyn Beetham, and Dara Carthew who beat Lorraine Stewart.
The Bronze Championship flight thus has Ruth Myers up against Carolyn Stevenson and Marilyn Beetham versus Lorraine Stewart.
The James Jug finals features Helen Falloon and Pam Williams.
Its Twilight Time again and yesterday was the first evening of a new format for this competition. It is not a teams event this year and individual players can play as many or as few nights as they like. The competition, stableford over 10 holes, runs until Christmas and continues in the New Year. Tee off is between 4 pm and 5.30 pm with an entrance fee of $5.00. Prizes are awarded nightly, however, any player who plays a minimum of 10 rounds goes into a draw for some very good prizes. This is open to all affiliated members from any golf clubs.
Next Saturday, October 16, features a par round, coupled with a Markhams Shoot-out qualifier. The following Saturday, October 23, sees the Trust House Old Grouse Whisky day. That is Labour Week-end, of course, so on the Monday, October 25, we have the popular W.B.S. Open Tournament.
Off the Fairway
Members will be saddened this last week by news of the death of three men closely identified with the club. Neville Parker, a fine golfer virtually throughout his career, was also a long-serving Secretary at Masterton, eventually being granted a life membership for his services to the club.
Jules Houghton and former Masterton Hospital medical superintendent Dick Skelley were both middle handicappers, but they shared the same tenacious qualities in a golf match. Also both showed great talent in other sports, with Dick a University Boxing Blue and a very keen squash player, while Jules represented Canterbury at both rugby and cricket.