Wairarapa fourball in spotlight

The main focus of the weekend at Mahunga was on the Copthorne Solway Park Wairarapa Open Fourball, which was played on Sunday, and had some very close scoring.
The day also featured a very rare occurrence, with Lance Sayer recording an albatross two on the par five fourteenth hole.
On Saturday, the women played in a stableford round, which saw Janet Shaw and Irene Phelps only separated by the count back system with their 40 point totals. Rae McKelvey took third place with 38 points on the count back system.
The men played in a par round on Saturday, and Rob McKelvey took out the top group with his score of 4 up. Tim Wilton and Bryan Pengelly warmed up for the Fourball on Sunday by sharing second place with scores of 3 up.
That was the same score that Thomas Tiopira registered in taking out the second group from Maurice O'Reilly on 2 up and Kevin Gibbs on square. Lukies Lucky last fell to Shane Stewart with a score of 19 down.
The nearest to the pins were almost a Tim Wilton benefit, as he took out the Solway Butchery one on the eighth hole as well as the sixth and seventeenth. Kevin May managed to take the Solway Pie Shop one on the first from Tim Wilton, while Ray Cocks took out the one on the third hole and Fred Brittain the seventeenth. There were just three holes in two scored, with those going to Kevin Gibbs, Tim Wilton and Ron Hutcheson.
In the first round of the Wairarapa Open Fourball, the best scores were the two under par scores returned by Lance Duckett and Alan Smith and Terry Meikle and Nic Simcox.
One shot back were the pairings of Bryan and Graeme Dick and Colin Trigell and John Schaafhausen, with Brian McHattie and Chris Ranish finishing on even par.
The best nett score in the morning round was the 58 nett from John Lett and Ray Clarke. In second place were Peter Mallitte and David Wills on 60, followed by Shane Stewart and Graham Duckett and Maurice O'Reilly and Martin Andrew on 61 nett. There were four pairings on 62 nett ? Dion Russell and Jock Albert, Jeremy Harp and Richard Anderson, Haira and Willie Paku and Robin Britt and Kevin May.
The best round of the tournament came in the afternoon round, with Mike Patterson and Alan Stewart scoring a six under par 66. Bryan and Graeme Dick, Lance Duckett and Alan Smith and Brendon Curtis and Brendan James all scored three under par 69's .
The scoring by the leading groups in the nett fell away in the afternoon round, with the best nett score of those in contention being the 62 nett scored by Brian Russo and Alan Heffer, followed by Maurice O'Reilly and Martin Andrew on 63 nett.
In the contest for the Hoar Cup, Lance Duckett and Alan Smith came out on top with a score of 139. That was one stroke ahead of Bryan and Graeme Dick, on 140. the pairings of Mike Patterson and Alan Stewart and Terry Meikle and Nic Simcox both finished on 141, with Colin Trigell and John Schaafhausen in fifth place on 142. Rounding out the prizes in the gross division were Alistair Smith and Lance Sayer on 146 and Bruce Herangi and Wayne Evans on 147.
The Roy Goodin Cup for the best nett scores was shared by the pairings of Maurice O'Reilly and Martin Andrew and John Lett and Ray Clarke. Both pairs finished on 124 nett and were only split on the count back. David Wills and Peter Mallitte took third place on 126 nett, followed by Robin Britt and Kevin May on 127. There were three pairing that finished on 128 ? Brendon Curtis and Brendan James, Brian Russo and Alan Heffer and David castles and David Sadler.
There were quite a few holes in two scored over the two rounds, with Graeme Dick getting two, Bryan Dick, Colin Trigell, Kevin Dunn, Bruce Herangi, Terry Fleet, Peter Mallitte, Brendon Curtis, Doug Leach, John McPhee, Maurice O'Reilly, John Schaafhausen, Laurence Butler, Alan Heffer, Alan Smith and Lance Sayer all getting one.
On Tuesday, the veterans played in a stableford round in blustery conditions, but that did not seem to affect the scores.
In the top women's group, Mei Hakaraia had the best score of 35 points, with Pat Gard second on 33, with Irene Phelps and Jean Bayly both finishing on 31. Betty Loader had the best women's score of 38 points in taking top spot in the second group, with Judith O'Connor in the runners up spot on 35, followed by Daphne Jordan and Val Haigh on 34 points.
Bill Graham scored 39 points in taking out the top men's group by one from Jon Kopua, with a gap back to Fred Brittain and Ted Gard sharing third place on 34 points. In the second men's group, Alby Haley led the way with 36 points from Trevor Oliver on 35 and ray Loader on 33.
The women's nearest to the pin on the third hole was won by Daphne Jordan, and Jean Bayly took the one on the sixth hole. Bill Christiansen took the men's one on the seventh hole and Ted Gard the sixth. But it was Betty Loader who scored the only hole in two for the day.
Next Tuesday, the veterans will be playing in a bisque par round.
This coming week-end will be a busy one. On Saturday, the club is holding its annual Halberg Day competition, with the field teeing off at mid-day. The funds raised on the day go to the Halberg Trust for distribution in the district to help the less able bodied participate in sports.
Then on Sunday, both the men and women will be involved in their respective shoot out finals. The men's event will commence at 8.30 am, to be followed by the women.
The annual Christmas Stableford tournament is starting to appear on the radar screen, with the tournament set down for Sunday 5th December. Starting sheets for the tournament will be posted in the club house later this week.