Sharrock takes out senior title at home

GOT IT: Dennis Sharrock celebrates a good putt for two on the 9th hole at the Castlecliff Golf Course in yesterday's final of the 61st New Zealand Senior Golf Association national tournament.PHOTO/STUART MUNRO

The Castlecliff Golf Club may have to have a look at the handicap of their executive committee member Dennis Sharrock after he played some outstanding consistent golf on his own course to win the 61st New Zealand Senior Golf Association national tournament yesterday afternoon.

Sharrock had defeated the 2013-14 champion Andrew Markman from Mt Maunganui in Thursday's semifinal, which saw him matched up against Alan Spedding from Te Puke for yesterday's playoff.

The veteran would claim the title on the 16th hole with a 3/2 victory, filling in a -1 card for the day's play.

"He just played really good all week, all the way through," said Castlecliff's golf manager Rodney Donaldson.

"Well under his handicap. Putted really well."

Sharrock had previously claimed his first Castlecliff Golf Club senior men's title in November last year with a six handicap.

In total there were six divisions where titles were decided yesterday and local Castlecliff players featured in four of them.

For the women's competition, which was strokeplay decided on gross, no one was in cooee of Stratford's Ann Braithwaite, who despite not playing her best at the back end of the tournament was still 15-20 shots clear at the close of play.

Sharrock joins four other Whanganui-based golfers to have won this senior national title.

The others are FC Hutchison (Wanganui) in 1958, Bryan Silk (Wanganui) in 1971, Gordon Sutherland (Wanganui) in 1991, and Morrie Gibbons (Castlecliff) in 2001.